A Sister's Tale: The Sorcerer's Stone
by GregsMadHatter
Summary: Three girls who were growing up in NYC will soon have their lives change and find out the truth about their pasts. Set during the entire series. My take with my OCs from books 17 & beyond. RonOC, FredOC, GeorgeOC, AU
1. Chapter 1

**Title: A Sister's Tale: The Sorcerer's Stone**

**Author: GregsLabrat**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The only characters I own are Amanda, Rachel & Elliot. My friend urged me to post it, and so I finally did. Hope you like!**

**A/N: My New Year's Resolution is to finish at least one of my previous stories, so that should make you all feel a bit happier. ; )**

**Chapter 1**

For most of our life, we have lived in a rundown orphanage outside of New York City. Even though we were each born from three different families, the three of us were practically sisters. The oldest, if you followed birthdays, would have to be Amanda Janine. Amanda was one of the most optimistic people you will ever meet. Her flowing brown hair was normally pulled back in a loose ponytail and her large blue eyes would make any boy melt. The next oldest was Rachel Sinclair, who was only older than me by one day. One day! Rachel had jet black hair and green eyes while I had red hair which was usually put in a ponytail and hidden under hat, and green eyes. Rachel and I are so close that you couldn't have one without the other. Rachel is somewhat laid back. As for me, I'm a very prankster kind of gal. I'm almost ALWAYS in trouble and I am the goofiest of the three. I think it may have to do with spending all that time with Amanda. But optimism isn't my strong point. Sometimes I can be very optimistic, but that optimism is always decreasing when more families come in and pick someone else and we grow older. As soon as you reach age eight, you realize you are spending the rest of your life in this place because the adoptive parents always go after children seven and younger. And as my optimism faded away, sarcasm replaced it. And for the past eleven years, we didn't know who we actually were until that day when the three of us were sitting together in the mess hall when the adoption facilitator came in with a couple. "Go ahead and make your choice," said the facilitator.

"Ten bucks says they choose a child under six," I smiled.

"Oh come on Ms. Elliot Croft, maybe we'll get lucky today," encouraged Amanda. It had always been Amanda's thing to call us by our full names whenever she tried to make us happy. It actually made us laugh. As we sat there laughing at Amanda, we heard the woman's thick British accent say, "We'll take those three."

The three of us turned and looked at them. "Did they just say us?" asked Amanda.

"I think so," replied Rachel.

We stared in disbelief as the facilitator and the couple walked up to us. "Girls, this is Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick. Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick, this is Elliot, Rachel and Amanda. These nice people are gonna take you guys back to London with them."

We smiled and waved. "Now if you two will follow me, we'll begin filling out the paper work."

As they walked away, Amanda turned to me and smiled. "Guess we got lucky today," she smiled.

I threw my French fry at her as all three of us laughed.

----oOo----

As they led us out of the orphanage, they looked to me like a real nice couple, but as the old saying goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover." I found out who they really were when I asked, "So, why did you choose us and not someone younger?"

"Because I wanted to see you lose that bet, Edna," Mrs. Fredrick replied.

"That's Elliot," I countered.

"Don't you dare talk back to me!" she scolded as we got into the taxi. I knew this wasn't going to be the happy family I had always dreamed of. Mr. Fredrick never spoke to us once, but I could feel the hate emitting from him. The plane ride wasn't all that enjoyable either. Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick sat away from us, leaving us alone and they didn't even bother to take care of us. During the flight, Rachel and Amanda talked, but I didn't catch a word they were saying; I was busy planning a prank to pull on our new foster parents. "Hey Elli, are you okay?"

I turned around and saw Rachel looking at me. "Yeah, I'm just thinking."

"You're thinking of a prank. I see that evil glint in your eyes," she smiled.

"Maybe when I have it all figured out I'll tell you."

Rachel smiled at me and turned back towards Amanda. When I looked up the aisle, I saw Mrs. Fredrick giving us the occasional glare that she would give if we got too loud, but we didn't bother to listen. Finally, we landed on the ground and saw the beautiful city of London. We had always wished to visit London and now, we were going to live there. But our adoring moment was soon interrupted by Mrs. Fredrick pushing us towards the car. As soon as we drove away, Mr. Fredrick began to speak. "Now when we get to the house, we have a set of rules. One, you will call us sir and ma-am. Two, you will wake up, do your chores, eat our meals, and hardly speak a word unless spoken to. Three, you will each have a separate room throughout the house. When we get there, we'll show you to your rooms. Four, you will not attend school, understand?"

We nodded just when Mr. Fredrick pulled up to the house. It was a cozy little home sitting in a neighborhood with identical homes. After we got our bags, we were led into the home and saw a large hallway branching off into different rooms. First, Mr. Fredrick walked up to the cupboard under the stairs and they began to whisper to one another. Then, they turned to us and said, "Erica, you get the cupboard."

"It's Elliot!" I shouted back at them when I then realized that they met meant me. Not knowing what to do next, I just stood there and looked at them. "Don't look at us like that, get in there and make yourself more comfortable."

Mr. Fredrick opened the door and motioned for me to walk in. The room was rather large for a cupboard and a pillow, blankets and mattress were lying in a corner. "Home sweet home," I muttered as I set down my bag and looked around the room.

First, I took out my books and placed them on the empty shelf next to the cot. Next, I pinned up my posters and then placed my bag with clothes, guitar and writing journals off into the corner. I was just getting set up when a banging came on my door and Mrs. Fredrick's voice called out, "Elliot, time for dinner."

I sighed and walked out to door to find Rachel and Amanda standing around the table while Mr. Fredrick sat at the head of the table as did Mrs. Fredrick. "Go ahead girls, serve the food."

Looking at the counter, I found a platter of sliced roast beef, a bowl of potatoes, steamed carrots, gravy and green bean casserole. As I picked up the bowl of mashed potatoes and began to serve, I "accidentally" flung some onto Mrs. Fredrick. She screamed bloody murder and stood up from the table. Amanda and Rachel couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sorry, did I get you?" I said in a sarcastic tone.

That's when a loud slap hit me on the face by Mr. Fredrick. After that hit I knew this was definitely not going to be the best time of my life.

----oOo----

All six of us were stuck doing the dishes while Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick sat in the living room watching some British comedy. "So, what room did you guys get?" I asked.

"I got the laundry room. There's nothing better than walking in to the smell of dirty socks. What about you Rachel?" asked Amanda.

"I got the attic. I swear there are more dusty bunnies than there is room," huffed Rachel.

"How's the cupboard Elliot?" asked Amanda.

"Amanda, its Edna," laughed Rachel.

"No, it's Erica," countered Amanda.

Smiling, I splashed them both with water, making the three of us laugh. "No, seriously, how's the cupboard?"

"Besides for the dust that comes off the roof when someone walks down the stairs, quite cramped. At least I have a nice quiet place to write stories and that song I've been meaning to write for Amanda."

"And it's about time too," yelled Amanda.

We all laughed until Mrs. Fredrick called out, "HEY! NO TALKING IN THERE! WE'RE TRYING TO WATCH OUR TV SHOW!"

The three of us just giggled louder as we finished up the dishes and headed to our rooms.

TBC…

**There you go, the first chapter. Please R&R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Six weeks had passed and finally, it was my birthday…like our foster parents even cared. I was sitting in my little cupboard writing in my journal when a loud banging noise came knocking on my door. "Elliot, get the bloody post!"

Setting my journal aside, I got up and walked up to the front door. A large pile of mail sat on the ground just waiting for me to pick them up. I'm a curious person, so I began to look through the mail. There, in my hand, was a letter addressed to me. And behind that was one for Rachel and Amanda. Looking around, I stuffed the mail into the cupboard and handed the rest over to Mr. Fredrick. I got away quickly and grabbed all the letters, running up the stairs into the attic. The attic had not only served as Rachel's bedroom, but our hideout where we could get away to relax. There were no windows, so the only light in the room was from the light bulb that hung from the ceiling. A large couch sat off on one wall and several boxes, nightstands and old chairs surrounded it. The extremely large bed lay very close to the hatch that led into the rest of the house and beneath that were all of Rachel's belongings. Already sitting in the room was Amanda and Rachel. "Guys! I got huge news!"

"Please tell me we are going to a nicer family," hoped Amanda.

I didn't say a word, I just handed them their letter. "What is this? We don't have any friends that would send us a letter," noted Rachel.

I just shrugged and stared at the envelope. "Who wants to open it first?" asked Rachel.

The two of them stared at me. "What? Me? Why?"

"Because YOU found them and it is YOUR birthday," emphasized Rachel.

I shrugged and ripped the top off of the letter. A parchment sat in the envelope and I took the letter out. "Dear Ms. Croft, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"What does that mean?" asked Amanda as we looked at our letters.

Suddenly, a scream came from downstairs. We ran down the stairs and saw a large, hairy man walking through the door and Mr. Fredrick holding a fainted Mrs. Fredrick. "Who the bloody hell are you?" ordered Mr. Fredrick.

"Ah, I see you three got yer letters," said the man.

The man walked up to the stairs and held out his large hand. "I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Happy Birthday Elliot."

"How do you know my name?"

"I dropped you off at that orphanage of yours, just like Amanda and Rachel there," pointed out Hagrid.

"I want you out of my house!" ordered Mr. Fredrick.

Instead of leaving, Hagrid pointed his umbrella and sparks flew at the Fredricks, which froze them in place. "Come on, grab your stuff. We need to leave now," said Hagrid.

"Leave where?" asked Amanda.

"I'm takin' ya to the Burrow. The Weasleys there are a much nicer family than these muggles."

"What are muggles?" asked Rachel.

"Non-magic folk. People unlike us."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're witches, girls. Now come on, the Weasleys are going to be expectin' us any minute."

We all stared at each other, wondering if we should trust this man. I nodded at them and quickly, we ran off to our rooms and grabbed our possessions. As I put my things together, Hagrid bent down and looked into the cupboard. "This is your room?"

I nodded as I closed the lid on my guitar case. "Well, you'll get a proper room as soon as we reach our destination."

"What's Hogwarts?"

"Excuse me?"

"What's Hogwarts?"

"It just so happens to be the best Wizard school in all of London, ran by the most powerful wizard ever known, Albus Dumbledore," said Hagrid as I finished stuffing my books into my bag.

As I walked out of the cupboard, I saw Amanda and Rachel already standing at the door waiting. "Now that we're all set, we should be heading out."

Hagrid led us out of the house, but before I left, I turned to the frozen Fredricks and pushed them over onto the ground with a smile. After they had both hit the floor, I walked out of the house and out into the fresh air where I saw a boot lying in the middle of the yard. "What is that?" asked Amanda.

"It's a portkey. Now you had best each touch a part and hold on tight, the ride may be a little bumpy."

We each placed our hand on the boot and suddenly, we were lifted off the ground and sent spinning off into the sky.

----oOo----

We had landed hard on the ground in front of a rundown old house in the middle of nowhere. Hagrid was standing in front of us as we sat up and took in our surroundings. The front door to the house opened up and a red-haired woman and man with a funny hat ran out the door. "Hagrid! It's wonderful to see you! Ah, these must be the three girls you were telling us about. I'm Molly Weasley," greeted the very cheerful woman.

"Arthur Weasley from the Ministry of Magic," greeted the man. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, this is Elliot Croft, Amanda Janine, and Rachel Sinclair."

"Come on in girls, you must be starving!" motioned Mrs. Weasley.

I looked at my sisters and they shrugged as they followed the Weasley's in. "You care to join us?" asked Mr. Weasley to Hagrid.

"No, I can't. I gotta run some more errands for Dumbledore. G'day," said Hagrid as he walked away.

When we walked into the house, we saw the most magical things we had ever seen. Dishes washed themselves, two needles were knitting by themselves. A clock with pictures of seven kids and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had the pictures pointed at different things…and the pictures moved! "Boys! Ginny! Come downstairs! They're here!"

Suddenly, six boys and one girl came running down the stairs and stopped to look at us. The youngest boy stared at me as if I were an angel from heaven. "Boys, Ginny, these are the three girls I was telling you about. Come on down and introduce yourselves."

The oldest boys came and introduced themselves as Bill and Charlie. The middle child was Percy followed by the twins Fred and George. The young girl then introduced herself as Ginny. The youngest boy came up to me and I said, "Hi, I'm Elliot."

"Ro…Ron Weasley."

"Oh, Ron has a little crush!" sang Fred and George together.

"Oh piss off," shouted Ron.

"Boys! Now then, who cares from some supper?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

The three of us nodded and the parents immediately led us to the dining room where a large table sat set for twelve. Mr. Weasley sat at the head of the table and Mrs. Weasley sat at the opposite side. The rest of us sat in between when the platters began to float over to the table and set itself in front of us. "Go ahead, dig in," encouraged Mrs. Weasley.

The food was amazing. Better than anything I had ever eaten in my entire life, and I could tell that Rachel and Amanda felt the same way. "So, did any of you know your parents?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Of course not sweetie, and you know why."

"How come?" I asked.

Mrs. Weasley looked at Mr. Weasley. "Dumbledore will tell you when he thinks you are ready," explained Mr. Weasley as he took a bite of his sausage.

We looked at each other confused. Were our parent's important people? Were they even alive? As we ate, Amanda and Rachel would keep nudging me and kept saying that I had an admirer. To tell the truth, Ron wasn't all that bad. He was definitely cute, but I barely knew him. "So, you're going to be a first year at Hogwarts?" asked Fred…or was it George…it was one of the two.

We nodded as we took a bite of ham. "Ron's gonna be a first year too. Guess we'll be doing our school shopping together, now won't we," mentioned Mrs. Weasley.

"But how are we going to afford our supplies? We're not exactly the richest people in the world," noted Rachel.

"That's quite alright. Albus gave me the keys to your money vaults. We'll get your money as soon as we get to Diagon Alley."

"Diagon Alley?" asked Amanda.

"It's the wizard shopping center," explained Mr. Weasley.

"Which is where we are heading tomorrow, so we had best get some rest. Ron, why don't you share your room with Elliot for tonight. Amanda and Rachel, you can share with Ginny. See you in the morning," saluted Mrs. Weasley as she cleared the dishes and let all of us go upstairs. I was just about to pick up my stuff when Ron quickly grabbed it. "Don't worry, I'll get those for you," said Ron.

I smiled and let out a little laugh as I grabbed my guitar and Fred and George helped carry up Amanda and Rachel's luggage. When we walked into Ron's room, I found four beds already laid out. "And, this is where you'll be sleeping tonight," said Ron as he set my suitcase down by the bed next to the window.

After setting my guitar down, I watched as Fred and George walked by with Amanda and Rachel's stuff followed by Amanda and Rachel. "Well, I'm gonna give you a little privacy, so…" said Ron as he walked out of the room and closed the door.

"He so totally likes you," said Rachel as she opened the door and poked her head through.

"Oh shut it, Rachel," I told Rachel.

"Come on Elli, everyone notices it. Give him a chance, he seems like such a sweet guy," urged Amanda as she appeared too.

I threw my pillows at them, causing them to shut the door once more. After I had set them down back on the bed as I got into my pajamas. A knock came at the door and Ron's voice came after saying, _"Is it safe to come in?" _

"It's fine, Ron," I laughed.

Ron came in with a smile on his face as he laid down in his bed. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Ron," I said in unison as we laid in our beds and before I knew it, we were drifting off to sleep.

----oOo----

"Alright children, let's go!" yelled Mrs. Weasley.

I groggily got up and looked around the room. Ron was already out of the room. Enjoying the privacy, I quickly got dressed and walked downstairs where I saw all of them waiting in the living room next to the fireplace. "Well, look who decided to wake up," said George…or Fred…man this was going to be hard!

"Give her a break, George," shouted Ron.

"Oh, look who's protecting his little girlfriend," laughed Fred.

"Enough! Come on lads and lasses, we'd best be going," said Mrs. Weasley as she picked up a jar full of ash. "What's that?" I asked.

"Floo powder. It's quite simple to use. Ron, why don't you go first."

We all watched carefully as Ron took a handful of the floo powder and stepped into the fireplace. He held his hand out in front of him and said very loudly, "DIAGON ALLEY!"

Suddenly, the dropped the powder and Ron disappeared in a rage of green smoke. My eyes grew wide as Mrs. Weasley motioned me to go next. "Go ahead sweetie. It will be just fine. Now, take a handful of floo powder and step into the fireplace."

I slowly followed her instructions. "Now, speak very clearly."

I took a deep breath and said just like Ron, "DIAGON ALLEY!"

Suddenly, I was engulfed in green flames and I felt myself being transported to somewhere. And before I knew it, I came flying out of a fireplace into Ron's arms. "You okay?" he asked.

I nodded and Ron just looked at me and smiled. Then, we heard laughing behind us. There stood Fred, George, Amanda, Rachel and Percy. We quickly pulled away from each other as Mrs. Weasley appeared. "Good, we're all here. Now come on, let's head over to Gringotts," motioned Mrs. Weasley.

We stepped out of the dark room into a bright alleyway filled with children and shops. "Welcome girls to Diagon Alley."

The place was amazing and the people were extremely nice to us. "Where is Gringotts exactly?" asked Amanda.

"Right in front of us," laughed Mrs. Weasley as she pointed to the largest building in the entire complex.

"Well, I see ya got here safely," said the oh-so familiar voice of Hagrid behind us.

We turned around and sure enough, we saw Hagrid standing right behind us. "Here to do a little shopping, I see."

"What are you doing here Hagrid?" asked Rachel.

"Doing a little shopping, same as you. Except I'm doing a favor for Dumbledore. Well, I'll leave ya to go shopping. G'day."

And just as fast as Hagrid arrived, he left. "Come now. If we're going to get this shopping done before sundown, we had better hurry."

The inside of Gringotts was just as big as the outside. Little men who I considered to be goblins were walking around doing mathematics and other financial stuff. As soon as we walked down the hall, the head honcho of the place looked down at us. "How can I help you?"

"We need to get these girls' money from their vaults. We have their keys right here," held up Mrs. Weasley.

"We'll be with you in a moment," said the goblin as he got back to his work. Another little goblin walked up to us. "Follow me misses."

"We'll meet you outside girls," said Mrs. Weasley as she led her children out of the large bank.

The goblin led us to a railroad cart and asked us to file in. As soon as we each had a seat, the cart lurched forward with speed. It felt like those rollercoaster rides at a theme park, only faster. The cart came to a sudden stop in front of a vault. "Ms. Elliot Croft's vault number 687."

The goblin opened the door and allowed me to walk up to the large vault. I handed him the key and he placed the key into the large keyhole. When the vault opened, I saw tons of gold, silver and bronze coins. "Wow!"

I grabbed what I thought was necessary and let the little goblin close the door. After he handed me my key back, he went off towards Amanda and Rachel's vaults and those were loaded, just like mine. After we got our money, we headed out of Gringotts and found the Weasley's waiting for us. "Got everything you need?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

We nodded and followed Mrs. Weasley over to a large book store. "Alright, why don't you girls go with Ronald and find all your supplies. Ron knows where everything is, so make sure you stick with him. We'll meet you at the Leaky Cauldron."

When Mrs. Weasley walked out of the store, we turned to Ron and followed him inside. Tons of children were shopping for their supplies just like us…only they knew what they were looking for, and I didn't. I felt so out of place among all of these kids who were going to go to the same school we were. How were we ever going to fit in?

TBC…

**Please R&R!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, thanks for the reviews!**

**Chapter 3**

We were almost done with our shopping, we just had two more things to get; a wand and an animal. Ron had led us to a shop called Ollivander's wands and inside were boxes upon boxes and an old man standing behind the counter. When the door closed, the man looked at us and said, "Ah, you must be here to get your wands. Now come over here and we'll see which one fits you."

We looked at each other as we walked up to Ollivander as he held out a box to Amanda. "Here, try this one."

When Amanda touched her wand, a glowing wind surrounded her. He then handed one to Rachel, but nothing happened. "Go ahead, give it a wave."

As soon as Rachel waved her wand, boxes flew off the shelves. "Maybe not."

He then handed another one to her and the glow surrounded her as well. "Alright, now your turn miss."

He searched the boxes and handed me this very elegant one. When I held it, nothing happened. I waved it in the manner that Rachel did and the glass vase across the room shattered. I quickly set it down on the desk as Ollivander got another wand. This one was a littler older and the same thing happened when I waved it. He then took out this box and looked at me oddly. He set the box down and I quickly took hold of the wand. The glowing aura surrounded me as it did with Amanda and Rachel. "Very interesting…" he muttered.

"What?" I ask.

"Interesting that this wand chose you. The feathers of the phoenix that reside in this wand gave another feather; the feather of the wand that belonged to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. But I have a feeling that you will do better than he did."

I stared at my three friends and we quickly paid for the wands and headed over to the animal shop where there were owls, cats and frogs. A lovely white owl caught my eye and as soon as I approached her, she cocked her head and cried out. "She likes you," said the shop-keeper.

We each chose our owls and paid the shopkeeper. I got the lovely Snow owl and walked out of the shop. As soon as we stepped outside, I thought of the perfect name for her, "Felix."

Felix agreed with me and the seven of us walked over to the Leaky Cauldron and said goodbye to the wonders of Diagon Alley.

----oOo----

After we had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, we traveled by floo powder again and arrived back at the Burrow. It was getting late and after we had another marvelous supper, we headed upstairs and into bed. Mrs. Weasley informed us that in two days time, we would be on the train heading to Hogwarts. She also explained that by the time we got back, we would have our own rooms and wouldn't have to share with Ron anymore. Rachel, Amanda and I were relieved by the news and we headed straight to bed. Ron was sound asleep, but I was still awake, lost in thought. Who was this man known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? How come I had a wand that was somehow related to this man's wand? I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice the sun rise and Rachel waking up. "Hey Elliot, did you stay awake all night?"

I didn't answer her. "Elli, are you okay?"

I still didn't answer. "ELLIOT! ARE YOU OKAY!"

I don't know why I didn't answer. Maybe I was still deep in thought. However, I was soon out of that trance when I felt a shoe collide with my head. "OW!" I yelled.

As soon as I screamed, Amanda hurriedly ran in. "What is going on?"

"What the bloody hell did you do that for?" I yelled at Rachel.

Rachel and Amanda looked at me strangely. "Did she just say 'bloody hell'?" asked Amanda.

"She's been spending too much time with Ron," answered Rachel.

"Oh piss off," I shouted as I lay back on my bed and stared at the wall. I could hear Amanda and Rachel laugh as they walked out of the room. I was somewhat surprised that Ron had managed to sleep through my yelling spree. But he soon awoke yelling, "SPIDERS!"

I couldn't help but laugh, but that smile quickly faded when Ron turned to me and asked, "Elliot, are you okay?"

Quickly, I sat up and turned to him. "Why does everyone keep asking me if I'm okay? I'm perfect! I'm bloody brilliant!" I yelled as I stormed out of the room.

I don't know why I yelled at him like that. I think it may have had something to do with all the things that were happening in my life and I was under a lot of stress. When I walked downstairs, I saw Rachel, Amanda, Fred, George and Percy seated at the table. I angrily sat down as Mrs. Weasley set seven plates down on biscuits and gravy. "Wow Elli, you looked pissed. Are you okay?" asked Rachel.

As soon as she asked that, Ron had come down the stairs and sat down. However, I shot an evil glance at Rachel. Everyone looked at me at awe and I didn't know why. I soon figured it out when I saw my fork fly straight at Rachel. Rachel had kicked back the seat just in time to miss her head and stick straight into the wall. Everyone at the table, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley who stood in the doorway of the kitchen looked at the fork and then at me. I looked around quickly ran out of the house and out to the fence that led to the open field behind the Burrow. As soon as I hit the fence, I rested my head in my hands and took deep breathes. Did I really just do that? How was it possible? I could feel the stress overwhelming me and the thoughts leaping through my brain. As was so unaware of my surroundings that I didn't even notice Ron had walked up next to me. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he said.

I didn't answer him. He didn't say another word and we stood in silence for the longest time. "They sent you out here to make sure I was okay, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah," he laughed.

"Well, I'm fine."

That's when he turned and looked at me. "No you're not. I can see that stress building up on your face."

I couldn't help but smile. Ron was so sweet and caring and charming. I turned and looked at him. "Thanks, I needed that."

"No problem. By the way, did I hear you using a British accent back there in my room? I think Amanda and Rachel are right; you have been spending too much time around here. It's getting to your head."

"Oh really?" I said with the smallest hint of a British accent.

Ron nodded and suddenly, I jumped at him, but he was too quick. We laughed and I chased him around the large yard. I haven't had that much fun since I was a five year old in the orphanage. We continued to chase each other around until finally, I lunged at him and we rolled in the dirt until I finally pinned him to the ground. Then, we heard someone clear their throat. We both looked up and saw everybody standing there looking at us. I quickly got off of him and Ron stood up, and we both chuckled. "Alright you two, you had best get out of those clothes and get washed up. We have some packing to do," laughed Mr. Weasley.

We both ran inside as everybody except for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley laughed at us. And when we ascended the stairs, there was a feeling I had never felt; love.

----oOo----

Finally, it was the day we had all been waiting for. It was the day we went to the train station to get on the train for Hogwarts. Amanda, Rachel and I didn't know what to expect, so we decided not to dwell and relax. The train station was amazing. There were trains among trains and platforms among platforms. We were looking for Platform 9 ¾. But as we reached Platform 9, it led straight to 10, no 9 ¾. "Where's the platform?" I asked.

"It's right there," said Mrs. Weasley, pointing to the brick pillar.

"Uh, that's a wall," explained Rachel.

"Here, Percy, you show them," ordered Mrs. Weasley.

Suddenly, Percy took his trolley and ran straight at the pillar. Suddenly, he disappeared into the pillar. "How did he do that?" asked Amanda.

"Like this," said Fred as he pushed Rachel into the pillar and she disappeared.

"Excuse me, but how do you get onto the platform?" asked a boy completely unfamiliar to us.

Mrs. Weasley began to explain it to him when Fred and George pushed me and Ron into the pillar together. I closed my eyes just waiting to hit the wall, but when I opened my eyes, I saw a black-scarlet train and children running onto the train. Rachel stood there laughing at us. "It's not what it looks like," I said.

"Yeah, right," she laughed as Fred, George, and Amanda appeared. "Come on, we had better get our luggage onto the train," said Percy as he led us to the luggage compartment and helped us load our luggage in.

As we boarded the train, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny said good-bye and the train moved forward. "Now let's see," said Ron as he tried to find an empty compartment.

But all of them were taken, except for one that just had the boy from earlier sitting in it. "Excuse, but do you mind? All of the other ones are full?" asked Ron.

"No, go ahead," said the boy.

I walked in and sat next to the window as Ron ran in and sat next to me. Rachel and Laura laughed as they sat next to the boy. "I'm Elliot Croft," I introduced myself.

"I'm Amanda Janine."

"Rachel Sinclair."

"The name's Ron. Ron Weasley."

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter," introduced the boy.

Amanda, Rachel and I smiled as Ron looked dumbfounded. "What?" I asked.

"You're Harry Potter?"

"Who's he?" I asked.

Harry gave me a Thank-God look. "He's the only person known to have survived an attack by You-Know-Who."

"Who the bloody hell is You-Know-Who?" I shouted.

"His name is Voldemort," explained Harry.

As Harry said his name, Ron shuddered. I looked at Rachel and Amanda and nodded. Then, we turned to Ron and repeated, "Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort…"

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" shouted Ron as we all laughed, including Harry.

As we talked, the trolley came by and asked if we were hungry. I was kind of, but I wasn't sure what to get. That's when Harry took out a pocket full of money and said, "We'll take the lot."

So instead of not getting anything, we got everything! And man was the food delicious. There were sweets, pastries, you name it! I could really get use to this stuff. As they all talked, I held my box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and stared out the window. We passed mountains and valleys, rivers and lakes and the beauty of nature. It was amazing. "Elliot," said Amanda.

I turned and looked at her. "Are you okay?"

How many times were they going to ask me that? It was seriously getting annoying. So, I picked up a bean and threw it at Amanda. It landed in her mouth and she quickly swallowed it. "EW! VOMIT!"

Everyone in the compartment laughed as Amanda began to gag. That's when the door opened and a girl looked in. "Excuse me, but have you seen a toad come in here? A boy named Neville's lost it."

"Oh no, not another girl!" shouted Ron when I quickly jabbed him in the side. "I mean…why don't you come in and sit down."

The girl smiled and sat next to Amanda. "I'm Hermione Granger."

We each introduced ourselves and when she heard Harry's name, she had the same face as Ron did. We got to know each other and Hermione and I had so much in common. But it was getting late and she had to go. "You had best change into your robes. I'll see you later," she said as she ran out.

Before she turned away, she turned to Ron and said, "You have dirt on your nose, did you know? Just there."

Ron rubbed the spot where there was a small patch of dirt. Giving a shrug, Harry and Ron took their robes and went to the nearest bathroom to allow us some privacy to change. After the boys came back, we came to a sudden stop in front of a huge castle and then Hagrid's blowing voice called out, "Firs' years off the train firs'. Only firs' years!"

When we got off, he saw us and smiled. "Why hello girls. You've been doing good, I see. Oh, hello Harry," he greeted Harry.

Harry waved and I looked at him. I then turned at looked at Hagrid who quickly turned and walked away. "Okay, follow me."

Hagrid led us to a series of boats and we each got into one and sailed off towards the castle. The castle was huge and had a very safe feeling about it. It was something you would imagine in a fairy tale, but only…it was real. We had arrived at the docks and Hagrid led us up the flight of stairs and into the castle. The inside looked just as big as the outside and yet again, Hagrid led us up a flight of stairs again to an old woman. "Hello. I'm Professor McGonagall. You will be entering the Great Hall soon and there, you will be sorted into your houses. But before we enter, I am going to go inform Professor Dumbledore of your arrival."

She disappeared through the doors and as I watched her leave, a blonde boy obscured my vision and looked at Rachel. "Why, hello beautiful. I'm Malfoy. Why are you hanging with these losers?"

"Excuse me, but these are my friends," said Rachel as she turned away. That's when Malfoy caught my attention. "Double double toile and trouble. There's two magnificent beauties. Why don't you come hang with my group, I'm sure we would be better company than them," said Malfoy.

I could see Ron's face growing redder and his face growing flustered. "Looks like someone has a little crush on you already."

Ron's redness soon disappeared as Malfoy turned back to me. "What do you say?"

"I say, piss off. I think I know a good friend when I see one."

Malfoy looked at me with anger. "You're gonna wish you never said that."

And then, he disappeared as Professor McGonagall appeared. "If you would follow me."

She opened the doors to reveal a large hall filled with students and teachers. Floating candles were high in the ceiling and the ceiling looked like the night sky. It was amazing. We walked between two tables and up to a chair were a dirty old hat sat on the stool. The old man who sat in the middle stood up and waved his hand. "Students, welcome to another year at Hogwarts. If you don't know me already, I'm Professor Dumbledore. As you know, we have many first years to sort out, so we shall begin the sorting."

"When I call your name, please come up front and sit on the stool. Hermione Granger."

Hermione slowly walked up in front of us all and sat on the stool as Professor McGonagall set the hat down on her head. Suddenly, the hat came to life. "Hmm…interesting. Ah…I say…GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table cheered with victory as Hermione went to sit with them. There, I saw Percy and the twins already sitting. "Amanda Janine."

Amanda walked up and sat down on the stool. "Ah…lovely…I know just where to put you…GRYFFINDOR!"

Yet again, the table cheered as Amanda went to sit with them. "Draco Malfoy."

I couldn't help but laugh at his first name. Who would name their son Draco? The hat barely touched his head when he shouted out, "SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table cheered as Malfoy joined them. "Harry Potter."

Everyone grew very silent as Harry approached the stool. The hat took his dear time with Harry, but finally shouted out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

They all clapped with joy as Harry joined the table. They went through more students, and the hat put them in other houses such as Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. "Rachel Sinclair."

Yet again, the hall grew very quiet as it did with Harry. We looked at each other as Rachel walked up to the stool. An ugly looking man leaned forward as if he was very interested. "Hmmmm…now this is strange. There is a good aura around you, but yet…there is still some of the darkness from your father…hmmm…GRYFFINDOR!"

Rachel walked away in triumph as the ugly man sat back down. "Ronald Weasley."

Ron walked up the stool and when the hat touched his red hair, he screamed out, "HA! Another Weasley. I know just what to do with you…GRYFFINDOR!"

All my friends now belonged in Gryffindor. No pressure, huh? "Elliot Croft."

The room grew very silent again as I walked up the stool. When the hat touched my head, it began to speak. "Hmmmm…interesting…very interesting. You seem to have the same problem as dear Mr. Potter. You have bravery, cleverness, loyalty, and trouble. But, where to put you? Well, I'm going to have to say…GRYFFINDOR!"

Everyone cheered as I ran down the stairs and sat with all of my friends. Finally, the sorting was done and Dumbledore stood up. "Now then, it is best we go over the rules. First, there will be no wandering the halls after night. Two, the restricted section in the library is for sixth and seventh years only. Third, no one is to travel in the 3rd corridor unless they want to witness an ultimate punishment. Anyone caught breaking these rules will lose points for their houses and receive a detention. Now, let the feast begin!"

Suddenly, food appeared on the empty platters. It was a feast fit for a king. "I love magic," I said as we dug into our meals and stuffed our faces.

Finally, the feast was over and we were led up to the Gryffindor common room. When we got the door, we saw a picture of a fat lady. "Password?"

"_Carpet Draconus_."

The painting swung open and we all filed in. "Now then, this is the Gryffindor Common Room. Gentlemen, your quarters are up the stairs to you left. Girls, to your right. You will find that your trunks are already set at your beds. We begin classes tomorrow, so get some rest," informed Percy.

After saying goodnight to Ron and Harry, we followed Hermione up and saw the girl's quarters already filled with out stuff. I found my trunk laying on top of the bed farthest from the door and Felix sitting comfortably in her cage. After we got changed, we each said goodnight to one another and went to sleep, except for me. This place was amazing and I couldn't figure out how Rachel and Amanda could fall asleep. It was so magical! I knew that this was going to be the best times of our life starting now.

TBC…

**Please R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

That morning, we had each been given our schedules and found that our first lesson of the day was Potions. The teacher was Professor Snape, head teacher of Slytherin. That was going to be interesting, not to mention that we had to share the class with Slytherin. It was definitely not going to be pleasant. The classroom was in the Dungeons. Great environment, don't you think? Anyway, when the six of us walked into the room, we saw Malfoy already sitting at a table. We sat as far as we could from him as suddenly, the ugly teacher from the feast walked in. "Hello class. I'm Professor Snape. In this class, you will learn how to brew potions that could help…or harm you. We will begin with the simple Doxy potion. Open your textbooks to page 725 and begin."

What a jerk, I thought to myself. No 'good luck' or 'I'll help you get started' phrase. "Thanks for the lesson," I muttered without realizing it.

"What was that Ms. Croft?"

I looked up and saw Snape staring me down. "Nothing."

"Sure. Ten points from Gryffindor," he smirked as he walked over to Draco's table.

I rolled my eyes and began to look at the recipe. It called for three drops of Dragon's breathe. Anymore would cause an explosion. That's when the idea occurred to me. "Hermione, how do you make things levitate?" I asked as I pulled out my wand.

"_Windgardium Leviosa_, why?"

Instead of explaining to her why I wanted to know that, I waved my wand and muttered, "_Windgardium Leviosa_."

The bottle of Dragon's breathe began to levitate and I pointed it in the direction of Malfoy's cauldron. "Elliot, cut it out. Snape might see you!" whispered Rachel.

But I didn't listen. Finally, the vial was levitating over the cauldron. "Now, how do I make it drop?"

"Lose your focus," replied Hermione.

"How?" I asked as I turned and looked at her. The vial fell into the cauldron and steam began to build up from the cauldron. I turned and watched as a whistling sound came from the cauldron. "You may want to duck," I advised as the cauldron suddenly exploded in Malfoy's face.

Green goo splattered all over the room as the six of us hid under our desk. We watched as a giant blob hit Snape in the face. We couldn't help but laugh as he looked at Malfoy and his two lackeys. "Watch what you are doing next time. Ten points from Slytherin and you get to stay after class and clean up."

We stood up from under the desk and quickly went back to work. Finally, Potions was over and we all walked out of the Dungeon. "That was bloody brilliant!" exclaimed Ron.

"Thank you, thank you very much," I replied in my best Elvis impersonation. The next class was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. I knew that learning to make things change shape was definitely going to come in handy for some pranks. And in fact, I got a chance to use it. "Okay class, we will learn how to change inanimate objects into animals. You will point your wand and mutter '_Reverto_'. Your inanimate object should turn into any animal you are thinking of at the moment."

The mantra filled the room as I stared and looked at my goblet. Smiling, I pointed my wand at McGonagall's hat and muttered, "_Reverto_."

The hat suddenly turned into a cat. Little giggles filled the room as McGonagall checked to see how everyone was doing. Amanda shook her head at me and transformed the sleeping cat back into the hat it once was. When we walked out of the class, Amanda turned to me and said, "Are you trying to get into trouble?"

"Uh…yeah," I replied.

"Lay off Amanda, she's just having some fun," remarked Ron.

"Look who's protecting his little crush," laughed Rachel.

"Piss off. Look, if I don't pull pranks, than what is day then? You've gotta have some humor to live."

I patted Amanda on the shoulder and skipped away. Today was definitely one of the best days of my life. I didn't think the day could get any better, that is…until flying class. We had arrived at the flying pitch where we saw an instructor with several brooms laid out in front of her. "Welcome class. I'm Madame Hooch. Today, you will begin your first flying lesson. Now, each of you take a spot next to your broom."

Hurriedly, we stood next to our brooms. "Now, place your right hand over the broom and say, 'up'."

So, I placed my hand over the broom and shouted, "UP!"

Suddenly, the broom flew straight into my grasp the first time. However, it took the others several tries before they could finally grab a hold of their brooms. "Now, mount your brooms."

We had each swung our leg over the broom to where we were sitting on the handle. "Now, you will kick gently on the ground, hover over the ground for a couple seconds, and touch back down."

Each one of us did it in perfect unison. "Very nicely done. Now, you will kick off the ground and experiment with your brooms. Go ahead, give it a try."

As soon as I kicked off the ground, I soared into the sky. The sensation was amazing! Showing off, I began to do flips and sharp turns. I would occasionally toy with my friends, but I manly pulled off several dangerous stunts. That's when I saw a rubber ball sitting on the roof. Odd, but that's when the idea occurred to me. I picked up the ball and turned to look. I saw Malfoy flying around three large hoops. I smiled and threw the ball through the middle hoop as Malfoy passed by. The ball hit Malfoy straight in the head, gaining his attention. I laughed until I heard Madam Hooch yell, "MS. CROFT! GET DOWN HERE NOW!"

I thought I was in serious trouble for hitting Malfoy in the head. When I touched down on the ground, Madam Hooch instructed for all the students to touch down on the ground and for me to follow her inside. She led me to the office of Professor McGonagall. "Minerva, I need to see Wood, I have something for him."

Oh boy, I'm in huge trouble now. McGonagall led me and Madam Hooch to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "Excuse me, Professor Quirrel; I need to see Wood for a minute."

The Professor nodded and a tall boy walked out of the room. "Oliver Wood, this is Elliot Croft. I have found you a very talented Chaser."

I looked at Madam Hooch with confusion. "What?" I asked.

"Wood will explain it to you in more detail. Why don't you explain to Elliot about Quidditch after lunch at the field?" asked Madam Hooch.

Wood nodded and shook hands with me. "I'll see you in the courtyard after lunch then."

And with that, he walked back into the classroom. "Now then, go back to your dormitory and get ready for your next class," instructed McGonagall as Madam Hooch went back out to the pitch to dismiss the rest of the class.

I thought I was going to be in serious trouble, but instead, I was going to be a 'Chaser' on a team for a sport called 'Quidditch'. I was completely confused. As I walked into the common room, I sat down on the large couch and waited for everyone else to show up. This was definitely one eventful day.

----oOo----

"Do you know how lucky you are that you didn't get in trouble for hitting Malfoy in the back of the head?" asked Rachel as we all sat around the common room. Harry, Ron and I were sitting on the couch by the fire as Rachel, George and Hermione sat in the two other seats next to us. "Yeah, I do know how lucky I was. That seems to be happening to me a lot today, don't you think?" I smiled as I leant back against the seat.

Hermione was, however, completely ignoring our conversation by studying her books for our classes. "Why do you study so much?" asked Rachel.

"I want to get good grades. If I get anything below 'Exceeds expectations, then I'm going to have a mental disaster."

"Sounds like Amanda," I muttered.

"Speaking of the devil, where is she?" asked Harry.

That was a good question; where was Amanda? Even better question, where was Fred? "Do I get the hint that Amanda and Fred are on a date?" I snickered.

"Even if they are, why do you care?" asked Harry.

"Well, if they are, they definitely won't admit that they are together. They would barely look at each other in the Burrow. I think it's time we played Cupid," I smiled.

"I like the way your mind thinks, Elliot," smiled Rachel.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and George gave us a scared look. I quickly looked at George and smiled, "We're going to need your help if this is going to work. Feel like a little stunt of Fred?"

George returned the smile as Harry and Hermione stood up. "You can count us out. As much fun as this is sounding, I think it's better if we leave it to fate," replied Harry.

"I would prefer to study. Good night," was all that Hermione said as she and Harry walked up to their respectable dormitories.

"Alright, this is what needs to happen. George, you find Fred and tell him that I was being an idiot and I got stuck in the broom cupboard and that Amanda is extremely upset. Rachel, you find Amanda and tell her the same, only leave the upset part out. Meanwhile, Ron and I will be waiting behind until they both enter and as soon as we are inside, Ron and I will shut the door and I'll perform the locking charm. Ready, break!"

And so, George and Rachel ran off to find the two of them while Ron and I hid behind the couch until they came running. The common room was dead quiet and the only sound that could be heard was the sound of the fire crackling. Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps came running into the room. Ron and I peered to find Amanda and Fred running towards the cupboard followed by Rachel and George. As George tried to open the door, Amanda pushed Fred aside and pointed her wand muttering, "_Alohamora_."

The door unlocked and in they went. As soon as they were inside, Ron and I ran to the door and closed it. As soon as the door was shut, and muttered, "_Collorperus_," and the door locked in place.

As Ron and I moved away, there came a sudden banging on the door. _"ELLIOT! YOU LET US OUT NOW!"_ shouted Amanda.

"Sorry, no can do. Not until you admit it."

_"Admit what?"_ asked Amanda.

"That you two like each other!"

There was sudden silence and then Amanda shouted, _"But I don't like Fred!"_

_"What do you mean you don't like me?"_ came Fred's voice.

_"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN! NOW, LET US OUT!"_

Unfortunately, Hermione heard the commotion and came running down stairs. "Honestly, you are so immature. _Alohamora!"_

The door unlocked and Amanda and Fred came flying out. "Thanks Hermione," sighed Amanda.

"No problem," replied Hermione as she looked at us and shook her head. After she was done silently reprimanding us, she went to bed, followed by everyone else.

---oOo---

It was lunch and we were all sitting and talking when Amanda turned to me and said, "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

I had to think about it for a little bit until I remembered. "Oh bloody hell! I've gotta go. I'll catch up with you later."

Quickly, I ran out of the mess hall and towards the pitch. When I arrived, I saw Wood walking out of the hall. "Good, you're here. Let's get started."

Wood set down a chest in front of me and opened to remember three different balls. First, he took out a small golden ball. "Quidditch is a game in the sky where you ride on brooms and try to defeat the opposing team. When the Seeker catches this, that team gets 150 points and ends the game.'

He then set it back into the box. He then unlocked a chain on one of the bouncing balls and handed me a bat. 'This is a bludger. They try to hit everyone off of their brooms. A beater tries and keeps these away from team mates and makes them hit the opposing team. Oh, here it comes."

Suddenly, the bludger came towards us. I brought up the bat and when it was in view, I swung and hit the bludger through a hoop. "Not bad. You'd make a very good beater."

Suddenly, the bludger came back and Wood caught it and wrestled it into the case. "Now, this is the ball you need to concentrate on. This is a quaffle. A chaser, that's you, takes the quaffle and throws it through those hoops. The middle hoop is worth 10 points and the sides are 5 points."

"But, don't I need a broom?"

"McGonagall is taking care of that right now. We have practice this Saturday. We'll have a broom for you to use until yours comes in. See you Saturday."

When Wood walked away, I heard the bell room. "Bloody hell!"

Quickly, I ran through the school and towards Charms class. I snuck in and sat between Rachel and Ron. "Good morning class," said the teacher, "Today, we will learn two charms. First, we'll learn to make things levitate. You swish and flick your wand while saying '_Windgardium Leviosa_'. Try that on your feathers in front of you."

I looked at Hermione and mouthed, 'Thank you'. I pulled out my wand and muttered the chantra. "_Windgardium Leviosa_."

Suddenly, the feather floated in midair and floated towards the ceiling. "Well done Ms. Croft."

After we had each pulled that charm off, he then taught us the summoning charm. "All you have to do is say '_Accio_…' followed by the item. Try on anything you find in the classroom."

I looked around and thought of the perfect idea. "_Accio Toad_.'

Suddenly, Neville's toad came over to me. I then said, "_Windgardium Leviosa_."

The toad floated and then, I flicked my wand, sending the toad flying into Malfoy's mouth. Everyone laughed as they saw Malfoy try to get the amphibian out of his mouth. "Ms. Croft!"

I looked and saw the professor looking at me. "Sorry. _Accio Toad_."

The toad came out of Malfoy's mouth and landed in front of me. "Ten points from Gryffindor, but five points restored for technique."

I smiled and looked at my friends. They couldn't help but laugh as we walked out of the classroom. 'That was bloody brilliant!" said Ron as we left the classroom.

---oOo----

For this whole week, I had been practicing Quidditch on the school brooms. They weren't very fast, but I still couldn't wait for our match against Slytherin. Finally, Saturday came. It not only was our match, but it was Halloween as well. I was sitting eating breakfast in the mess hall when suddenly; Felix came flying in carrying a large package. Felix dropped it in front of me and flew off to the Owl tower. "What's that?" asked Rachel.

I was just about to open it when Hermione placed her hand on the package. "Don't open it yet Elliot. Read the inscription first."

I sighted and picked up the card. It read:

DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOU ARE IN THE COMMON ROOM.

"That's interesting. I'll see you guys later," I said as I picked up the package and ran up the stairs and into the common room. As soon as I closed the door, I opened the package and saw a beautiful broom sitting before me. "Wow."

As I picked it up, I saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, Rachel and Amanda filing in. "Wow! It's a Nimbus 2000!" shouted Ron.

"Is it good?" I asked.

"It's bloody amazing!" replied Ron. "With this, you're going to be fantastic!"

I smiled and held up the broom. That's when I saw the time. "Oh my God! Harry, we're going to be late! I'll see you at the pitch guys!" I called out as Harry and I ran down the stairs and towards the locker rooms to change into our uniforms.

After we had each gotten changed, the team and I stepped out towards the doors and onto the field. The sun warmed our faces and I could hear the chanting of the Gryffindor house cheering us on. Slytherin flew over our heads, but I didn't mind. It was a fantastic sight. We each mounted our brooms and flew off to practice. After warm ups, Madam Hooch walked out to the center holding her broom and stood next to the chest. I took my place to the right and looked down. "Now I want a nice clean game from all of you."

Madam Hooch then kicked open the chest, sending the bludgers and the snitch flying. She then picked up the quaffle and threw it into the air. Katie Bell caught it and the game began. I swerved past each Slytherin team member, trying to clear a passage for Katie to fly through. I could hear the announcer shouting out commentary. "Gryffindor has possession of the quaffle. Oh! A bludger almost hit Angelina in the head!"

I couldn't help but laugh. That's when a bludger went flying past my head. I moved just in time as Fred hit it and knocked a Slytherin off in a different direction. I kept flying with Katie and she threw it through the middle hoop, earning us ten points. Gryffindor cheered loudly as a Slytherin grabbed the quaffle and went flying off towards Wood at the hoops. I tried to gain possession, but their Chasers kept knocking me around. "Oh, the Slytherins are pounding on Elliot. That has got to hurt."

Finally, I dropped low to the ground, causing the Slytherins to collide and go spiraling down to the ground. Luckily, Wood saved the hoop. The quaffle landed in my arms and I went speeding off towards the hoops. As I got closer, I saw a bludger heading towards me. But George flew in front of me and hit the bludger away, allowing me to get up to the hoop and score ten more points. We had scored another ten points when suddenly, a bludger hit me in the arm, causing me to lose my balance and fall off my broom. I held on by one hand, trying to gain the feeling back into my other arm. That's when another bludger came flying towards me, hitting my other arm and send my flying to the ground. But lucky for me, Fred caught me before I hit the ground and flew me back up to my broom. He set me back down and went flying off to help our team. But Slytherin came back, scoring thirty points. Things were looking bleak when suddenly, I saw Harry spit out the snitch. We had won the game! We cheered in victory as we went into the changing room and then up to the common room to celebrate. I was hoisted up onto shoulders as was my team members and we were carried around the room as heroes. It was a magnificent feeling. And things would only get better that night.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

It was the Halloween feast and I could feel the eyes of every Slytherin praying upon me. They hated our guts for beating them earlier, but I didn't mind. We had beaten them fair and square. But no one looked at me more than Malfoy. He was practically glaring at me. I wanted so bad to throw something at him. "Just leave it alone Elli," Amanda tried to calm me down.

But I picked up some mashed potatoes and threw them across the room, hitting Malfoy square in the face. We all laughed when suddenly, Snape's voice called out, "MS. CROFT! COME HERE THIS INSTANCE!"

I stood up and walked up to the teacher's tables while everyone whispered amongst themselves. But what Snape hadn't seen was that I had a Pumpkin Pastry hidden behind my back. As I approached, he came inches away from me. "Do you like getting yourself into trouble?"

"Trouble? Oh, you mean this kind of trouble," I said as I revealed the pastry and hit Snape in the face. Seamus stood up and shouted, "FOOD FIGHT!"

Everyone began picking up food and throwing it at one another. The teachers hid beneath the table as Snape glared at me. But as I ducked, a glop of mashed potatoes hit him in the face. I then ran down the stairs and hid, trying to stay away from the food that was being thrown. We had had a good couple of food fights at the orphanage, but nothing as big as this. I could see all sorts of delicious food flying across the room. Seemed such a waste to see delicious triple chocolate cake hit a Slytherin in the face. Finally, Dumbledore stood up and shouted, "STOP!"

Everyone stopped throwing food and looked at Dumbledore. "Ms. Croft, follow me."

Dumbledore led me towards his office as everyone smiled and whispered to me, "You're so dead."

We had arrived at a statue of a bird and Dumbledore shouted, "_Toffee_."

The statue moved and revealed a staircase that spiraled up to the office. Dumbledore motioned for me to follow him on and we road the stairs up to the office. Inside was walls covered with pictures and an empty perch. "Sit down Elliot."

I sat down and watched as Dumbledore sat in front of me. "You have courage, I'll give you that, but that courage has been followed by stupidity. I'm very sure that Snape is wanting you expelled."

I looked down at my feet and placed my wand on the desk. I was just waiting for the snap when I saw Dumbledore pick up the wand and hand it to me. "But I'm not going to expel you. You have too much potential to waste."

"Sir? Are you serious? You can't be! I'm the worst student here! Perhaps you haven't noticed, but I'm barely passing any of my classes."

"Potential doesn't come from you academics, Ms. Croft. It comes from how well you perform and how you use your abilities to help those around you, and yourself. Remember that, Ms. Croft, because I may not always be around to tell you that."

"Yes sir."

"Now, why don't you go back to your common room and get ready for bed."

As Dumbledore said this, I smiled and quickly ran towards the door. "And one more thing, you will be spending detention with Snape tomorrow night."

"And here I thought I was getting out of here with just a slap on the wrist," I said sarcastically as I snapped my fingers and ran down the stairs and towards the common room. When I walked into the room, I saw Rachel, Amanda, Harry, Ron and Hermione just sitting there. "Well?" urged Ron.

"Detention with Snape tomorrow, that's all," I smiled.

"You lucky dog," smiled Rachel as I shrugged my shoulders and walked up into the dorm room.

----oOo----

It was the next evening and my detention with Snape was just about to begin. Harry and Ron decided to walk with me down to the dungeons. The girls said that they had better things to do then walk down to Snape's class. In fact, I had better things to do too, but ah, that's life. As we reached the door, I could hear Ron singing the funeral song. "Oh shut up," I yelled at him.

Harry and Ron waved and walked away as I opened the door. As soon as I poked my head into the room, I saw Snape's smug face smiling at me. "Well, you actually came. Why don't you follow me and I'll show you to your punishment."

I smiled weakly as he led me into a closet filled with vials. "You will sort through these vials and take inventory. Don't even bother leaving until it is all done."

Snape shoved a clipboard and quill into my hand. "Have fun."

"Yeah right," I muttered to myself as he closed the door. Taking inventory took hours upon hours just trying to figure out which vial contained which potion. I was beginning to feel a little light headed, but I thought nothing of it. Finally, when it was all said and done, I staggered out of the room and towards the staircase. I was extremely light headed and practically falling over my own feet. I could just barely make out my friends coming down. "How was it?" asked Rachel.

Then, my legs gave out beneath me and I fell onto the floor. "Bloody hell," I could hear Ron yell as I heard footsteps walk up to me.

Everything sounded fuzzy and muffled. What a weird feeling. I opened my eyes and saw all of them looking over me. "Are you okay?"

"Heh, flying monkeys," I heard myself say.

"She's bloody high!" shouted Ron.

"I wonder what Snape did to her," wondered Harry.

"We should get her up to the Common Room. I'll take her feet. Ron, you take her arms," ordered Rachel.

Suddenly, I could feel them lifting me off the ground and walking up the staircase. And before I could stop myself, I looked up at Ron and said, "I really like you."

Everyone stopped moving and I'm sure it was Ron that dropped me. After my head hit the ground, everything went black.

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The next morning, I woke up with a splitting head-ache and dizziness. "Hey Elliot, it's about time you woke up," said Amanda, who held out a glass of water to me.

"What happened last night?" I asked them.

"You…uh…how should I put this," thought Hermione.

"You told Ron that you like him," finished Rachel oh so gently…NOT!

"WHAT!?"

I quickly jumped out of bed and ran away from them all. When I reached the common room, I saw Harry and Ron walking up to me. "Hey Elli…" began Ron as I ran past him.

"I think they told her," I heard Harry say as I ran out the door and down the staircase. As I ran through the school, I didn't care where I went, just as far away from Ron as possible. Finally, I ran through the courtyard, down to Hagrid's hut, ran through the door and fell down onto the large chair. "Thanks for knockin," I heard Hagrid say as he closed the door.

"I need something to drink, BADLY!"

"What happened?" asked Hagrid as he grabbed two large beer mugs and poured a little bit of ale into the mug. "More," I just said.

"No, you ain' gettin' drunk," said Hagrid as he filled the rest of the mug with tea.

After he gave me the warm drink, I took a quick gulp and wiped away the liquid on my lips. "I really hate Professor Snape," I just told Hagrid.

"You 'ad detention wit' him, didn' ya?"

I nodded and took another drink as Hagrid's door flew open and my friends walked in. "Doesn' anyone 'round here know some manners?" asked Hagrid.

As soon as I saw Ron, I ran behind the chair and pointed my wand at Ron. "Stay away from me," I said slowly.

"Elliot, stop acting like a little kid," scolded Amanda, "Sorry that we barged in, Hagrid. We won't do it again, RIGHT GUYS!"

"Yeah, sure," said they all said in unison. I was too busy keeping my eye on Ron.

"Alrigh', wha's goin' on between ya two?" asked Hagrid to me and Ron.

"You may want to sit down Hagrid, it's a long story," informed Hermione as she placed her hand on his arm and led him to the seats. Everyone else sat around the room as Hermione began to explain that Snape had made me sort through the potions and I got high off of the fumes. And then she went on to telling him that I was so dazed that when I saw Ron I told him I liked him…REALLY liked him. It wasn't true, and even if it was, I would be too damn stubborn to admit it anyway. "Is tha' all now?" asked Hagrid.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," I replied.

"You know Elliot, you're making this a bigger deal than what it already is," noted Hermione.

"Hermione's right. You were high, Elli. I'm sure Ron isn't going to change because you said it, right Ron?" asked Harry.

Ron just stood there in silence. Harry nudged him in the side, causing Ron to say, "Oh, yeah, that's right."

"Well, now tha' tha's over with, you be'er be gettin' to class. Now, of ye go."

We all smiled and ran out of Hagrid's hut towards Hogwarts. And even though our first class was potions, I didn't mind. As long as I had great friends like these, I was in tip-top shape.

---oOo---

Luckily, Potions went by without a hitch…which I was SO thankful for. It kind of hurt not to pull anything in that class, but after what Snape had me do last night….oohh! I didn't even want to think about it. But, I think I surprised Hermione and Amanda with my actions in Potions. Hell, I think I surprised everyone by my lack of playfulness. The same thing happened in Transfiguration. By the end of that day, we had loads of homework, courteous of Snape. As we sat in the mess hall, eating our dinner and doing our homework, which I was not paying attention to, I could tell that Malfoy had walked up behind me. "Well, well, well, look what we have here."

"What do you want?" I asked a little annoyed.

"I came to offer you another chance, Elliot."

I smiled and bit my lip. I could see Ron's face grow read again. Slowly, I turned around and looked up at him. "Listen, Draco. I have a type…and you don't fit it," I smirked as I stood up and went to go to bed.

But I guess Malfoy wouldn't take no for an answer. The little limey runt grabbed a hold of my arm and pulled me back to face him. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Amanda, Rachel, Fred and George all stood up, ready to attack. "Who do you think you are, you filthy wannabe? You are lucky Dumbledore even let you into the school. You and your friends here were only brought here because Dumbledore is too soft for his own good."

Those were harsh words. Quickly, I slapped Malfoy across the face and ran to the girl's lavatory. When I ran in, I ran into one of the stalls, slammed the door shut and fell against it crying. I hated Malfoy. As I sat there crying, I heard a growling sound. Quite strange since girls don't growl. Slowly, I opened the door and came face-to-face with a troll, and an ugly one at that. The stench was practically unbearable. At the time, I was more scared that anything else. As I stared at it, it swung its large club which, in turn, destroyed the stalls. I quickly, jumped out of the way just as Ron came running in followed by Harry and Hermione. But the troll didn't notice. He just kept coming at me. I kept backing up and watched as his club went into the air. I was so focused on the large wooden bat that I barely heard Ron shout, "_Windgardium Leviosa!"_

The club hung in midair over the troll's head. After bringing down his wand, the club fell on the troll's head, knocking it out cold. As soon as the troll was down, I heard a rumbling. We all looked up and saw that not only had the club destroyed the stalls, but had caused a large crack in the ceiling. As the ceiling began to break, I ran opposite everyone just as a rather large piece of wood came falling and hit my head, knocking me out cold.

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, thanks for the reviews. I'm glad you like it.**

**Chapter 7**

"Elliot? Elliot, wake up!"

I slowly opened my eyes to see everyone staring down at me. "Guys? What happened? Where am I?"

"You're in the Hospital Wing. After you left, Professor Quirrell came running in, shouting that a troll had been set loose in the school. Amanda and Rachel went to go to the dormitory to find you while Harry, Ron and I went looking elsewhere. While searching, we ran down the dungeons since that is where the troll was reported. When we found out that the troll wasn't there, we sort of smelled him and followed him to the girls lavatory. That's when Ron busted through the door and saved your life," explained Hermione.

"What?" I asked, turning to Ron.

Ron just smiled at me as his cheeks began to radiate a reddish glow. "It was nothing."

As I smiled at him, I sat up, but everybody kept wanting to push me back down. Why do they always belittle me? After assuring them I was fine, I turned to Ron and said, "Thank you."

"Really, it's no…" he started, but I interrupted him by embracing him in a big hug. Rachel, Amanda, even Harry and Hermione laughed. "…problem," finished Ron with a smiled on his face.

As I let go, Madame Pomfrey came running up to me. "Alright, that's quite enough. Give Ms. Croft some room. Now, Ms. Croft, how do you feel? Do you feel light-headed? Dizzy? Woozy?"

God almighty! I've always hated hospitals. The doctors always treated you like a charity case. "I'm fine," I swore to her.

After a little bit more convincing, Madame Pomfrey let me go back to the common room. As we climbed the moving staircase, the stairs shifted right as we reached the third floor. As soon as we reached the door, Hermione noted, "This is the third floor corridor."

"The forbidden one?" I asked interested.

"Oh no, Elliot. There is no bloody way you're going in there," said Amanda.

"Oh, and YOU say I'M spending too much time around Ron," I smiled.

Rachel shook her head as I opened the door. "Elli, no," shouted Hermione.

But I ignored her and began to walk in. I turned to the group and said, "Any of you care to join me?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. You heard what Dumbledore said, I'd rather live," said Rachel.

"Count me out," added Amanda.

As those two walked off, Ron stated, "I'm in."

"Me too," replied Harry.

"Well, SOMEONE'S got to keep you three out of danger," sighed Hermione.

"Excellent," I said as we descended into the forbidden third floor corridor.

It was very dark and musty. Spider webs covered everything. As we walked further down the hall, lights began to illuminate. Suddenly, we heard a meow come from behind us. When we turned around, we saw Filch's cat. "It's Filch's cat," said Hermione, stating the obvious, as usual.

"Run!" instructed Harry, and we did.

We ran down the hall until we reached a locked door. "What do we do?" asked Ron.

"Move," shouted Hermione as she pointed her wand at the lock, "_Alohamora_."

Suddenly, the door unlocked and we ran in to hide. After Hermione shut the door, I turned to her and asked, "_Alohamora_?"

"Standard Book of Spells, Chapter seven," she explained.

"Blimey, they must lock every door in here," said Ron as we walked up to Harry.

"And for good reason," said Harry.

"What…" I began until I saw what Harry was staring at. Lying on the ground and about to get onto its feet was an enormous black dog…with, count them, three heads! As it got onto its feet, it growled at us. In a matter of seconds, we all let out a loud earsplitting scream. As it moved towards eating us, we quickly ran out of the room and shut the door behind us. "Why would they even keep a monster like that in the school?" asked Ron.

"You don't use your eyes, do you? It was standing on something," said Hermione.

"Sorry, I was too busy looking at its heads. Perhaps you didn't notice, but there were three!" I shouted.

"That thing was put there for a reason. It's guarding something," explained Hermione.

"Okay, YOU would figure that out," I laughed as Harry hit me on the arm.

"Can we just get back to the common room?" asked Ron.

"Yes, let's, before you three come up with another clever way of getting us killed, or worse…expelled," stated Hermione.

As she walked away, Ron leaned to me and Harry and muttered, "Someone definitely has to get her priorities straigtened."

As soon as we exited the third floor corridor, there stood Filch and Dumbledore. "Now, what were you four doing in there?" asked Dumbledore.

"Well…uh…you see, sir…I had gone wandering into there because I heard something inside. They made sure I didn't get hurt. It was all my idea, so if you're gonna punish anyone, punish me," I lied.

Dumbledore stared at me strangely. "Mr. Filch, please escort Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley back to the Gryffindor common room. I would like a word with Ms. Croft."

"Good luck, Elliot," they whispered to me as Filch led them back to the common room.

As soon as they were gone, Dumbledore began to lead me to his office. For a second time, I approached the large phoenix statue and listed to Dumbledore shout, "_Toffee_."

The statue began to spire upwards to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore motioned for me to go up first and he followed behind me. As soon as we got to the top, I walked into his office and sat in the same chair I did last time. "You know, you should probably just make a corner for me to stay in when I come up here," I laughed, trying to lighten up the mood.

"That is exactly what your father said."

With that, my eyes grew wide and my mouth dropped open. After Dumbledore sat down, he looked me square in the eye. "What were you thinking, going into there? You could have gotten yourself killed."

"Oh, you mean by the three-headed dog guarding that trap door?"

Dumbledore looked at me in confusion. "How did…?"

"Kind of ran in there by accident. So, what's it guarding?"

"I'm afraid that is not your concern. I want to show you something."

This time, I looked at him in confusion. Dumbledore opened his desk to reveal a big book. When he opened the book, he showed me a picture of a man and woman dancing in the snow. "This, Elliot, is your mother and father."

I looked at the picture in amazement. My mother was beautiful with green eyes and red hair, while my father was a handsome man with brown eyes and brown hair. "You look more like your mother more than your father, though you act more like him. Your parents were powerful and their death came as a shock to everyone. Your parents were killed by Lord Voldemort, and I'm afraid he may be coming after you as he is with Harry. Harry is doing marvelous and keeping himself out of trouble, however, you seem to be slacking off and not studying. It shows on your exams. So, I want you to come up to my office every Saturday night, understand? Do not tell anyone about this."

"Then what am I supposed to tell my friends?"

"Tell a lie, you seem to be good at that. You made up a very convincing one down there at the third floor. Tell them that you have detention with me every Saturday until the end of the school year. That seems to fit you pretty well, don't you think?"

I smiled at Dumbledore. "Excuse me sir, but, what are their names?"

"Lily and James."

"Lily and James what?"

"Lily and James you will know when you're older. Now, run along to your dormitory and get some rest. I'll see you back here on Saturday."

"Yes sir," I huffed as I sulked out of the room.

TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

I really don't remember what happened after the meeting with Dumbledore last night. All I remember was walking into the common room and going straight to the dormitory and falling asleep. So, the next morning, I found everyone out of bed and down in the common room. When I walked down there, there stood Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Hey, where are Rachel and Amanda?"

"They're out with Fred and George," said Ron.

"So, how did it go last night?" asked Harry.

That's when I remembered what Dumbledore told me. "He said that I have detention with him every Saturday until the end of the school year."

"Oh man, that sucks," said Ron.

"Tell me about it," I smiled at them. That whole week, people were busy getting ready for Christmas. Many were going home for the holidays. However, Harry, Ron, Hermione and I went to go find Hagrid and try to get him to tell us about the three-headed dog. When we walked out to the courtyard, we found Hagrid walking around the grounds. "Hagrid, we need to talk to you," I shouted.

We got Hagrid to come walk with us. "Hagrid, what is that dog doing in the third floor corridor?" asked Hagrid.

"How do you know about Fluffy?"

"Fluffy?" Ron and I asked in unison.

"That thing has a name?" asked Hermione.

"O' course 'e does. He's mine. I gave 'im to Dumbledore to guard the…"

"The what?" asked Harry.

"I shouldn' 'ave said tha'. No more questions. Don' ask anymore questions."

"Come on Hagrid, what is it?" asked Harry.

"It's top-secret. The only people who know about it are Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel," said Hagrid, realizing what he told us.

We all looked at him smiling. "I shouldn' 'ave said tha'. I should not 'ave said tha'," he muttered as he walked away.

"Who's Nicholas Flamel?" I asked with now a full-blown British accent.

"I don't know," sighed Hermione. That came as a shock to everyone. Hermione didn't know someone. But, as in her natural way, she suggested we should go to the library and investigate. God, this was going to suck.

---oOo---

The week flew by and before I knew it, my first Saturday meeting with Dumbledore was near at hand. I told everyone I would see them later and walked down to the Dumbledore's office. When I had arrived at the big phoenix, I stated the password and walked up the large rotating stairwell. When I had arrived inside Dumbledore's office, I saw the office rearranged so that the middle of the room was free of anything. "Sir?" I asked.

That's when Dumbledore arrived out of the back. "Right on time. Marvelous. Please, step into the room and pull out your wand."

Raising my eyebrows with confusion, I pulled out my wand and walked further into the room. Before I could utter a word, Dumbledore shouts, "Protect yourself."

And before I knew it, Dumbledore had launched a spell at me. Just as I was about to protect myself, the spell hit me in the stomach and sent me flying backwards. After I had hit the wall, I looked at Dumbledore and shouted, "What the bloody hell was that for?"

"When you're in battle, you're going to have to be ready to protect yourself in a moments notice. That was a test…that you failed. Every Saturday, I will launch a spell at you without a moment's notice and you'll have to protect yourself. Now," he explained as he walked up to me and held out his hand.

After he hoisted me to my feet, Dumbledore walked to the other side of the room, and held his wand at the ready. "Attack."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"If you hesitate against your opponent, you will end up being killed. Now, attack!"

"Alright, I'm really sorry about this," I muttered as I pointed my wand at Dumbledore and shouted, "_Expelliarmus!"_

As my spell flew at Dumbledore, he knocked the spell off a shield and sent it back towards me, where, again, it hit me in the stomach and sent me flying. After I regained my senses, I stared at Dumbledore angrily. For that entire night, it was mainly me attacking and defending and being blown against the walls by Dumbledore and my spells. When I went back to the common room, I swore I had several bruises all over my body. Luckily, everyone was asleep in their dorms, so I went up to my bed and fell asleep.

TBC…


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Finally, it was Christmas break. Amanda, Rachel, Fred, George and I were watching Ron and Harry battle it out at a game of wizard's chess. Hermione came walking into the mess hall with her trunks just as Harry made a move. "Knight to E7."

Hermione had just come up behind us when Ron smiled, "Queen to E7."

We watched as Ron's queen viciously took out Harry's knight. "That's totally barbaric!" exaggerated Hermione.

"That's wizard's chess. I've see you packed."

"I see you haven't."

"Change of plans, my parents have gone to Romania to visit my brother Charlie," said Ron as he smiled at me.

"Good, that means you can help Harry, Elliot, Rachel and Amanda in the library finding out anything you can on Nicholas Flamel."

"What? We looked a thousand times!" I sighed.

Then, Hermione leant in and whispered, "Not in the restricted section. Happy Christmas."

And with that, Hermione left for the two week Christmas break.

---oOo---

Later that day, me and Rachel were sitting outside in the courtyard when George walked up to us. Smiling, I nudged Rachel just as George had stopped in front of us. "G'afternoon Rachel, Elliot."

"Afternoon, George. What can we do for you?" I asked.

"Well, Rachel…I was wondering if, maybe you would like to go down to the lake with me and have a little picnic."

I smiled and looked at Rachel who was beat red. "I…sure, I would love to," she stammered.

"Brilliant! I'll see you at the courtyard at noon tomorrow."

And with that, George went running off towards the castle, leaving Rachel and me to sit in the sun. As soon as George was gone, I started busting out laughing. "It's not bloody funny!" shouted Rachel.

But that just made me laugh even harder. "WHAT IS SO FUNNY?"

"Now who's been spending too much time with the Weasleys?" I said between laughs.

Jokingly, Rachel began chasing me around the school grounds as the snow began to fall on that winter day.

---oOo---

That next day, while Ron and I were researching the library, Rachel came running in smiling. "Oh you won't believe the day I've had today."

"I can only imagine," I muttered.

"George took me down to the lake for lunch. And then he took me flying across the lake on his broom. It was brilliant!"

"Congratulations. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to," I said as I slammed the book closed and walked away.

I can't explain why I acted the way I did. Maybe it was because I was doing terrible in Dumbledore's "detentions" or because we still hadn't found ANYTHING on Nicolas Flamel. Why couldn't it have been some renowned wizard like Balderoth the Grand or Damascus the Wise? As I reached the doorway, Ron had appeared next to me. "You want some company?"

"Aren't you going to try and find more on Nicholas Flamel?" I asked.

"Rachel said she would take care of it. Come on, I'll walk you up to the common room."

I don't know why, but Ron always had a way of making me smile. Maybe it was his funny attitude or his stupidity, I don't know. All I know is he was such a sweet guy. I reluctantly nodded and allowed Ron to open the library door and let me through. What a gentleman. The walk up to the common room was full of laughter and smiles. I couldn't help but feel this sense of happiness when I was with Ron. But when we arrived at the common room, we found no one in the main room, so we took the couch right in front of the blazing fire. Resting on that soft couch felt really good after sitting in a hard wooden chair for most of my day. Tired as I was, I soon found myself resting my head on Ron's shoulders. He looked down at me and I looked up at him. But, we quickly broke apart when Fred and George popped out from behind the couch laughing and singing, "Ron and Elliot sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Oh piss off!" I shouted at them.

But when the twins walked out of the common room, they continued to sing and laugh. "Fred and George, you learn to love 'em," sighed Ron.

I laughed at Ron's statement and rested my head against his shoulder once more as he brought his arm around me and rested it on my back.

---oOo---

"Elliot! Wake up! It's Christmas!" I heard Rachel shout in my ear.

When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw Rachel sitting on side of my bed and Amanda at the end. "Come on, Harry, Ron, Fred and George are down in the common room waiting for us!" said Amanda as she and Rachel ran out of the room.

Slowly, I rubbed my eyes, put on my slippers and robe, and rushed downstairs where I saw all of them sitting by the tree. "Happy Christmas, Elliot!" smiled Ron.

"Happy Christmas," I replied.

When we got down to the bottom, I saw Ron, Fred and George wearing ridiculous sweaters. "What are you wearing?" I asked.

"Mum made them. Looks like you got one too."

That's when my eyes lit up. I actually got presents. Before I could dive at the pile, Fred and George sat me down on the couch. "Not so fast, Elli," stated Fred (I was getting better at telling them apart).

"We're going to hand each person one present at a time," finished George.

Sighing, I crossed my arms as Fred handed Amanda a present. Amanda read aloud, "'To Amanda. Happy Christmas! Love, Fred.'"

Then, Amanda began ripping open the wrapping paper to find a silver bracelet with her name embrodied on it. "Wow! It's beautiful!" Amanda said with a small English accent.

Quickly, she jumped up and gave Fred a giant hug. I could tell that they both enjoyed that. Then, George handed Rachel a present. The card read the same thing, only the names were changed. When Rachel opened her present, she saw a small ring with a ruby on it. "Wow, George. It's amazing! Where did you guys get it?"

"Hogsmeade," they said in unison.

Then, Rachel gave George a hug as well. Now I could pick on Rachel and Amanda for liking the twins. Anyway, before I knew it, there was a box on my lap. The card read, "'To Elliot. You know how bloody hard it is to find something for you? Love, Ron.' "

I laughed after I read that. Then, I ripped open the paper to find a small box. Inside the box was a silver locket. When I opened the heart shaped charm, I found a picture of me and Ron with our arms around each other's shoulders and laughing. It was the best gift I have ever received. "Thanks, Ron. It's beautiful."

Before Ron could say a word, I lunged at him and gave him a giant hug. I could hear Fred and George laughing at Ron's pure red face. After that was said and done, I had opened a blue sweater with a white E sewn on it, some chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, a scarf and a handmade beanie. There were only two presents left under the tree; one for me and the other for Rachel. Rachel opened her gift first and found a giant book entitled, "Jokes and Pranks by Felicity Airing." My gift was a large cloak. In each of our packages, there was a letter. Mine read, "You're father gave this to me before he died. Use it well." Rachel's said, "I confiscated this from your mother before she died. Use it well." No name, so we didn't know who it came from. As I stared at the cloak, Ron said, "Go ahead, and put it on."

Shrugging, I flew the cloak around my shoulders and held it in front to where it enclosed my pajamas beneath it. "Bloody hell!" shouted Ron.

"What?" I asked.

"You're invisible!" chorused the twins.

I looked down at myself and saw that my entire body was gone. "My body's gone."

"I know what that is. It's an Invisibility Cloak," stated Amanda.

"How did…?" began Rachel.

"Hermione told me all about them," was her reply.

I just smiled as I twirled around in my robe. That's when I noticed Ron was busy talking with Fred and George. With a smile on my face, I covered my head and body with the cloak and snuck up behind Ron. Catching Ron off guard, I placed my hand on his shoulder and shouted, "Boo!"

Ron screamed like a little girl and jumped out of his skin. Everyone in the room laughed as I took off the cloak. "It's not funny!" moaned Ron.

I knew that this school year was going to be ten times as fun now with an Invisibility Cloak.

TBC…


	10. Chapter 10

**Ch 10**

After Christmas was over, Harry asked if he could use the Invisibility Cloak to sneak into the restricted section of the library and try to find something on Nicholas Flamel. Glad that I didn't have to do it, I gratefully gave it to Harry. While he was gone, Amanda, Rachel, Fred and George were off doing something and I had no idea where Ron was. So I was stuck in the common room by myself looking through the prank book that Rachel had received. There were a lot of good pranks in there, and a couple of them I thought would be practical to use on either Snape or Malfoy. However, they were going to have to wait until the holidays were over. The book, like most books, got old real fast and I placed it back on the table next to me. After I had set the book down, I dug through my pocket and pulled out the picture of my parents that Dumbledore had given me. The looked so happy. If only I knew what they were like. As I stared at the picture, I heard the door behind me open. Quickly, I stuffed the picture back into my pocket just as Ron had walked into the common room. "Elliot! There you are! I was beginning to wonder where you went."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a surprise for you. Come on!"

That's when Ron took my by the hand and led me through the castle and out into the snowy grounds. "What is it, Ron?"

But instead of answering me, Ron took me down to the iced-over lake where two pairs of ice-skates were waiting for us. "Ron…" I sighed happily.

Laughing, we put on the skates and began spinning around on the ice. It was such a magical feeling. As we glided side by side, I lost my balance and fell into Ron's arms. We both laughed as Ron tried to balance himself, but ended up falling on the ice with me. As we sat there on the cold ice laughing, we slowly leant in. But before we got too close, a snowball hit Ron on the head. It had come from either Fred, George, Rachel or Amanda. Quickly, we got off the ice and engaged in an epic snowball fight. It was the best Christmas I had in years.

---oOo---

The Saturdays had been ruthless, but thankfully, the holidays were over and everyone was returning back to Hogwarts. During the holiday season, Amanda and Fred and pronounced their undying love for one another and officially became a couple. The two of them barely spent any time apart. Hermione was back, thank god for that because she was the bookworm. While Fred and Amanda were swooning over each other, Harry, George and Rachel were talking amongst themselves. Ron and I were busy eating breakfast when Hermione came running in with a large book. "I can't believe how foolish I was," she stated as she dropped the book on the table.

The noise had caused all of us to jump. "I checked this book out weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

"THIS is light?" asked Ron as Hermione flipped through the book.

Fred and George had left us to meet up with Lee Jordan when Hermione said, "Here it is! Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone."

"The Sorcerer's Stone?" asked Rachel.

"Please, don't you ever read?"

All of us, except Amanda, shook our heads. Hermione continued reading. "The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It will also produce the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal."

"Immortal?" asked Ron.

"It means you'll never die," replied Amanda.

"I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS!" shouted Ron at Amanda as Hermione continued, "Mr. Flamel has the only known Sorcerer's Stone, who celebrated his 665th birthday. That's what's under the trap door. That's what Fluffy's guarding; the Sorcerer's Stone."

"Great. All we do now is get passed the 3 headed dog and get the stone," I said.

"Why don't we ask Hagrid? He'll know how to get past Fluffy. After all, Fluffy is HIS dog!" suggested Rachel.

"Alright, we'll go see Hagrid later. For now, we can't let anyone know what we're up to," stated Amanda.

We all nodded and waited for the right time to talk to Hagrid.

---oOo---

That night, we used the Invisibility Cloak to sneak down to Hagrid's hut to talk to him. When we arrived, we knocked on the door and Hagrid opened. As soon as he saw us, he smiled, "Oh, hello. I don' wish to be rude, but I'm in no mood to entertain today."

He was just about to close the door when we said in unison, "We know about the Sorcerer Stone!"

The door reopened and Hagrid said in a less then happy mood, "Oh."

"We think Snape's trying to steal it," stated Harry.

"Blimey, you're not still on about him, are ya?" asked Hagrid as he led us in.

"Oh come on, Hagrid, this IS Snape we're talking about!" I stated as Hagrid shut the door.

"We know he's after the stone, we just don't know why," replied Harry.

"Why woul' Snape try to steal it? Snape is one of the teachers protectin' the stone!" stated Hagrid.

"What?" Ron and I said in unison.

"Alrigh', you heard righ'. Now I'm a bi' more preoccupied today!" mumbled Hagrid.

"One of the teachers?" asked Amanda.

"Of course! There are other things guarding the stone. Spells and enchantments!" stated Hermione.

"Righ'. Waste of bloody time if you ask me. Ain't no one gonna get past Fluffy. Ain't a soul knows how, except me and Dumbledore. I shouldn' have told you tha'. I should not have told you tha'."

Suddenly, a shaking sound came from the pot hovering over the fire. Hagrid quickly ran over and pulled out a large bronze egg. He then placed it back on the table where we all crowded around it. "Hagrid, what exactly is that?" asked Harry.

"Oh, tha'? It's a...it's um..." began Hagrid.

"I know what that is! But Hagrid how did you get one?" asked Ron.

"I won it! Off a stranger I met at the pub. Seemed quite glad to be rid of it, as a matter of fact."

Suddenly, the egg began to bounce around until the egg cracked and a small creature emerged from the bronze shell. "Is that...a dragon?" I asked.

"That's not just a dragon! That's a Norwegian Ridgeback! My brother Charlie works with these in Romania," answered Ron.

"Isn't he beautiful? Oh bless him look, he knows his mummy!" sighed Hagrid as the dragon turned and looked at Hagrid with a happy smile. "Hello Norbert!" smiled Hagrid as he tickled beneath the dragon's chin.

"Norbert?" asked Rachel.

"Well he's gotta have a name don' he? Don' you Norbert? Te de de de de!" tickled Hagrid until Norbert sneezed fire on Hagrid's beard. We all jumped back in shock as Hagrid brushed at the sparks. "Oh! Woah! He'll have to be trained up a bit of course. Who's that?" asked Hagrid as his face went from a happy look to a look of worry.

We all looked out of the window and saw a blonde head disappeared. "Malfoy," stated Harry.

"Oh dear," sighed Hagrid.

---oOo---

We quickly left Hagrid's hut and headed back towards the castle so that we wouldn't get caught. "Hagrid always wanted a dragon. He told me so the first time I ever met him," stated Harry.

"It's crazy! And worse Malfoy knows!" stated Amanda.

"I don't understand. Is that bad?" asked Hermione.

"It's bad," replied Ron as Professor McGonagall appeared with Malfoy trailing behind her. "Good evening."

McGonagall led us into her classroom and lined us up in front of her desk. "Nothing I repeat nothing gives a student the right to walk about the school at night. Therefore as punishment for your actions, 25 points will be taken."

"25!" I shouted.

"Each. And to ensure that it doesn't happen again, all seven of you will receive detention," replied McGonagall.

Malfoy's face looked shocked. "Excuse me professor. Perhaps I heard you wrong. I thought you said the seven of us," asked Malfoy.

"No you heard me correctly Mr. Malfoy. You see, honorable as your intentions were you too were out of bed after hours. You will join you classmates in detention," smiled McGonagall.

We all turned and sneered at Malfoy's angry face. Even though we were in detention, it was going to be worth it because we got Malfoy in trouble too.

TBC…


	11. Chapter 11

**Ch 11**

Filch was leading us out of the castle the next night so we were to serve our detention. "A pity they let the old punishments die. Was a time detention found you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons. God, I'll miss the screaming," he sighed.

Hermione and I exchanged disgusted faces as we approached Hagrid. "You'll be serving detention with Hagrid tonight. He's got a little job to do inside the Dark Forest. A sorry lot, this, Hagrid," stated Filch as he led us up to where Hagrid was with his cross-bow.

When we arrived, we saw Hagrid with a solemn look on his face. "Oh good God you're not still on about that bloody dragon now are you?" asked Filch.

Hagrid had a sad look on his face as he said, "Norbert's gone. Dumbledore sent him off to Romania to live in a colony."

"Well, that's good isn't it? He'll be with his own kind," stated Amanda.

"Yeah, but what if he don' like Romania? What if the other dragons are mean to him? He's only a baby after all."

"Oh, for God's sake pull yourself together man. You're going into the Forest after all. Got to have your wits about you," said Filch.

"The Forest? I thought that was a joke. We can't go in there. Students aren't allowed. And there are... werewolves!" whimpered Malfoy.

"Ah, there's more that werewolves in those trees, lad. You can be sure of that. Nighty- night," sneered Filch as he walked away.

After Filch had left, Hagrid said to us, "Right, let's go."

Hagrid led us into the forest where we saw a pool of silver blood. "Hagrid, what is that?" asked Harry.

"What we're here for. See that? That's unicorn blood, that is. I found one dead a few weeks ago. Now, this one's been hurt bad by something. So, it's our job to go and find the poor beast. Ron, Hermione and Amanda, you'll come with me," explained Hagrid.

"Okay..." whimpered Ron.

"And Harry, you'll go with Malfoy, Elliot and Rachel," finished Hagrid.

I wasn't too happy to have to be with Malfoy, and I could tell Malfoy wasn't either. "Okay, then I get Fang!" smiled Malfoy.

"Fine. Just so you know he's bloody coward," replied Hagrid.

Harry, Rachel and I smiled at Fang as he let out a silent whimper. After we left the group, Malfoy complained as he led Fang, "Wait till my father hears about this! This is servant stuff."

"If I didn't know better Draco, I'd say you were scared," smiled Harry.

"Scared Potter," laughed Malfoy as a sound caught us offguard. "Did you hear that?" whimpered Malfoy.

"Come on Fang!" shouted Rachel as we headed off further.

"Scared!" whispered Malfoy as Fang began to bark. "What is it Fang?" I asked when we saw a dark figure huddled over something.

The figure lifted his head to reveal two large fangs. "AH!" screamed Malfoy and Rachel as they ran off with Fang.

Harry and I backed up a bit as the figure stood up and came flying at us. A branch caught us around the ankles and sent us to the ground. The figure was practically on top of us when a large horse-like creature with the torso of a man jumped in front of us and scared the beast off. As soon as the figure was gone, Harry and I stood up and the beast said, "Harry and Elliot, you must leave. You are known to many creatures here. The Forest is not safe at this time. Especially for you two."

"But what was that thing you saved us from?" I asked.

"A monstrous creature. It is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. Drinking the blood of a unicorn will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death. But at a terrible price. For you have slain something so pure that the moment the blood touches your lips you have a half-life, a cursed life," explained the beast.

"But who would choose such a life?" asked Harry.

"Can you think of no one?"

That's when it dawned on me. "You mean to say that thing that killed the unicorn, that was drinking its blood, that was Voldemort?" Harry asked.

"Do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment, Mr. Potter?"

"The Sorcerer's Stone!" I whispered.

I'm sure he was going to tell us more when Hagrid's voice shouted, "Harry! Elliot!"

We turned around to see the entire gang run up to us. "Hello there Firenze. See you've met our young Mr. Potter and Ms. Croft. All right there you two?" greeted Hagrid.

Harry and I nodded as Firenze said, "Harry Potter, Elliot P…Croft, this is where I leave you. You are safe now. Good luck."

And with that, Firenze galloped away into the darkness.

---oOo---

The six of us had gathered in the Common Room when we returned to the Gryffindor Tower to discuss what had happened that night. "You mean, that You- Know- Who is out there right now in the Forest?" asked Hermione.

"But he's weak. He's living off of unicorns. Don't you see? We had it wrong! Snape doesn't want the Stone for himself. He wants the Stone for Voldemort. With the Elixir of Life, Voldemort will become strong again. He, he'll come back," sighed Harry as he fell down on the couch next to me.

"But if he comes back, you don't think he'll try to kill you, do you?" asked Ron.

"I think if he had his chance he would have tried to kill us tonight," I replied.

"And to think, I've been worrying about my Potions final," sighed Rachel.

"Hang on a minute. We're forgetting one thing. Who's the one wizard Voldemort is always feared?" asked Hermione.

We all looked at each other, not knowing the answer. "Dumbledore! As long as Dumbledore's around, Harry, you're safe. As long as Dumbledore's around you can't be touched," she finished.

It was true. Now all we had to do was sit around and wait for Dumbledore to play hero and scare Voldemort away…yeah, that was DEFINITELY going to work.

---oOo---

After another vigorous session with Dumbledore, I sat in the chair in front of his desk like I always do so he can tell me what I was supposed to have learn that night and I asked him, "Who were Rachel and Amanda's parents?"

Dumbledore stared at me oddly as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious. We each hold similarities, but I can't help noticing some traits we share with other people."

"Well, since you asked. Amanda's parents were Muggles. After some strange things happened around Amanda, the Muggles planned to kill her. I quickly sent Hagrid to fetch her and take her somewhere safe."

"So, Amanda's a Muggle-born like Hermione?"

Dumbledore nodded. "And…what about Rachel?"

"Rachel's parents were both wizards. However, her father turned dark and her mother took her away into hiding. Her mother gave Rachel to me until things got safe. However, her father killed her mother. So, I sent Rachel off to the orphanage as well. But I'm curious, Elliot. Why ask about your friend's past and not your own?"

Ah, another Dumbledore question. One to make you think. Before I knew it, I found myself answering, "I don't know. Maybe I'm afraid to find out who my parents were. Maybe because if I found out there was something wrong with them…something dark or miserable or dangerous about them, I may have it too. Maybe because I never knew them and if I finally find out who they were, I begin to feel as if part of my life I will never know it."

"And you don't feel that way now?" asked Dumbledore.

I shrugged my shoulders as I stared down at my feet. Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair and said, "Sometimes, Elliot, we fear the truth. We're afraid to know things that we never knew about ourselves because that means someone knows us. But you can't let that stop you."

Dumbledore was right…again. Score one for Dumbledore. After thinking about it for a moment, I asked, "So…are you going to tell me about my parents then?"

Dumbledore smiled at me. "Your mother and father were both wizards. Very talented. Their death came as a shock to all. On Halloween night, the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, came and murdered your parents. It's amazing how much you look like your mother, but act like your father."

What Dumbledore told me was so heart-wrenching. I could feel tears fall down my face. "Now, now Elliot. It is high-time you headed to bed. I think you've had enough for one night."

---oOo---

The school year had been going by fast. Every Saturday, I continued to meet Dumbledore for magical lessons and I had to admit, I was getting better. The topic of the Sorcerer's Stone was dropped for a while…that is, until we were walking from Transfiguration to Potions. "I'd heard Hogwarts' final exams were frightful, but I found they're rather enjoyable."

"Speak for yourself. All right there you two?" asked Ron, noticing that Harry and I were clutching our heads.

"My scar. It keeps burning," replied Harry.

"Speak for yourself, I have a headache."

"It's happened before," said Hermione, ignoring my statement.

"Not like this," replied Harry.

"Perhaps you should see the nurse," laughed Rachel.

"I think it's a warning. It means danger's coming," stated Harry when we saw Hagrid playing a recorder on his doorstep. "Ah. Oh, of course!" I stated, noticing what we hadn't noticed before.

"What is it?" asked Amanda.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that what Hagrid want more than anything is a dragon and a stranger turns up and just happens to have one? I mean, how many people wander around with dragon eggs in their pockets? Why didn't I see it before?" I stated.

When we reached Hagrid, I asked, "Hagrid, who gave you that dragon egg? What did he look like?"

"I dunno. I never saw his face. He kept his hood up."

"This stranger though, you and he must have talked," replied Hermione.

"Well, he wanted to know what sort of creatures I looked after. And I told him, after Fluffy a dragon's gonna be no problem."

"Did he seem interested in Fluffy?" asked Rachel.

"Well of course he was interested in Fluffy! How often do you come across three headed dogs do you come across even if you're in the trade? But I told him, I said, I said, 'The trick with any beast is to know how to calm him.' Take Fluffy for example, just play him a bit of music and he falls straight asleep." We all looked at each other, knowing what Hagrid just said was going to help the man get the stone. Hagrid realized what he said and mumbled, "I shouldn't 'ave told you tha'."

Quickly, we ran back up the castle as Hagrid shouted, "Where are you going? Where are you…?"

We ran back into the Transfiguration classroom where we saw Professor McGonagall at her desk grading some papers. "We have to see Professor Dumbledore immediately!" shouted Harry.

"I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore's not here. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and left immediately for London," replied McGonagall.

"He's gone! But this is important! This is about the Sorcerer's Stone!" I stated.

"How did you know…?" began McGonagall, completely puzzled.

"Someone's going to try to steal it!" finished Amanda.

McGonagall looked around and whispered to us, "I don't know how you six found out about the Stone but I assure you it is perfectly well protected. Now would you go back to your dormitories quietly."

We slowly left the room and grouped outsider her door. "That was no stranger Hagrid met. It was Snape. Which means that he knows how to get past Fluffy," said Harry.

"And with Dumbledore gone…" began Hermione when a voice behind her said, "Good afternoon."

We turned around to see it was Snape standing behind us. Busted! "Now, what would six young Gryffindors, such as yourselves be doing inside on a day like this?"

We turned around as Amanda stuttered, "We were...we were just…"

"You'd ought to be careful. People will think you're up to something," said Snape as he looked at us. Then, he began to limp away. "Now what are we do?" asked Ron.

"We go down the trap door, tonight," I stated a matter-of-factly. That's when they all realized what we had to do.

TBC…


	12. Chapter 12

**Ch 12**

"You guys ready?" asked Harry as we all gathered around the Common Room, me holding my Invisibility Cloak.

We all nodded as we headed towards the portrait. But when we were just about to walk through, there was Trevor the toad. "Trevor? You shouldn't be down here," whispered Ron.

That's when Neville turned to us and said, "Neither should you."

We all took a step back as Neville stood up to us and said, "You guys are sneaking out again, aren't you? You're going to get Gryffindor in trouble again. I won't let you. I'll…I'll fight you."

Neville brought up his fists ready to fight. Great, he wouldn't stand up to Malfoy, but he would stand up to us. Hermione broke through and said, "Neville, I'm really sorry about this. _Petrificus Totalus_!"

The body-binding curse took an immediate affect and Neville fell to the ground. We apologized as we walked by. After we were out, we put the invisibility cloak on. "This is going to get real tough when we get older," I muttered.

Harry and Hermione led the way as Rachel and Amanda were in the middle and Ron and I were in the back. When we reached the door leading to Fluffy, Hermione muttered, "_Alohamora_" and we walked through.

There was Fluffy, fast asleep and an enchanted harp playing a soft tune. "Snape's already been here," muttered Hermione.

"Help me move his paw," said Harry.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I helped moved the paw out of the way so that Rachel and Amanda opened the trap door. As soon as the trap door was out of the way, we all peered into the dark tunnel. "Alright, I'll go first. If you guys get too overwhelmed, then head back," said Harry.

But that's when I realized that the room got quiet all of a sudden. "Guys, did it just get quiet in here?" I asked.

"The harp. It stopped playing," noted Hermione.

That's when I watched a large string of saliva fell onto Ron's shoulder. "Eww!" he shouted as he wiped it off his shoulder.

When we all looked up, we saw Fluffy looking over us. "JUMP!" shouted Harry.

Quickly, we all jumped into the tunnel just as Fluffy was about to bite our heads off. The tunnel was practically a chute and we found ourselves sliding down to god knows where. When we landed, we landed on a soft plant. "Whew! Thank goodness this plant was here to break our fall," sighed Ron.

"Whoa!" shouted Harry just as the vines began moving towards us. The vines began wrapping themselves around us, tying us down to it. "Relax, this is Devil's Snare. If you don't, it will only kill you faster," explained Hermione.

"Oh yeah, NOW I can relax," I shouted through gritted teeth.

Hermione gave a weak smile as she suddenly fell through the plant. "Hermione!" we all shouted.

"Hermione, where are you?" asked Harry.

"I'm fine! Just relax!" I heard her shout.

Then, Harry took a deep breath and he fell through the vines too. Ron and I shouted louder, unable to relax as the vines tightened their grip. "Oh well," sighed Amanda as she took in a deep breath and fell through.

" Amanda!" I screamed.

Rachel stopped moving and I was afraid that she was dead. But then, she fell through the plant and into god knows what. "Help!" Ron and I shouted as we struggled against the vines.

Before I knew it, a light as bright as the sun shone through, causing the plant to free us from it's grip and down into the abyss. But we soon found out that it dropped off on the ground where everyone else was waiting for us. "Whew! Good thing we didn't panic," smiled Ron as he helped me up.

We all just laughed as Harry stated, "Good thing Hermione pays attention in Herbology."

We proceeded through the dark chambers. The next test, as I would put it, was a broom in the middle of a room with a bunch of keys scattered on the roof. Harry was the one to take a hold of the broom and catch the old key, helping us to get through to the next room. But this room, this room creeped me out. There was a bunch of broken stone figures that somewhat resembled chess pieces. "What is this place?" asked Harry.

"It's a chess board," muttered Ron as the torches brightened to reveal a large chess board already set. On the black side there were six empty spots. We didn't think anything of it as we crossed the board. Just as we reached the white pieces, the pawns pulled out their swords and blocked our path. As we stepped back, the pawns tucked in their swords. "How are we going to get past THAT?" asked Amanda.

"Don't you realize it? We have to play our way across the board. Hermione, you be the queen side castle. Rachel, you're the queen side knight. Amanda, you're the king-side castle. Harry, you can be the king side bishop and Elliot…you're going to be the queen."

Amanda and Rachel snickered at this. "Aww, how cute! Elliot is Ron's queen!" laughed Rachel.

Harry and Hermione let out a laugh as well as I gave them an evil look. "What about you, Ron?" I asked.

"As for me, I'll be the king side knight!" he said heroically.

I actually had to giggle. It was funny to see Ron's face as he said this. But, we each took our spots on the board and got ready to play. "What do we do now?" asked Hermione.

"Well, white moves first. And then, we play."

That's when a white pawn moved across the board. "Ron, you don't think this is going to be like real wizard's chess, is it?" asked Hermione.

Thinking about it, Ron shouted, "You! Pawn to D5!"

The black pawn moved into the position to get taken by the white pawn. Suddenly, the white pawn pulled out its swords and slashed the black pawn to bits. "Yes Hermione, I'm afraid this is going to be EXACTLY like wizard's chess," gulped Ron.

Each of our eyes widened in fear as we continued to play. Ron kept issuing out orders to move and take out the opposing team. Each time a piece was killed, stone bits flew around the room and smoke rose up by them. A few stone fragments had cut my skin, as it did with the others. Then, I realized that I was in a position to get taken by the knight. "Uh…Ron!" I shouted.

That's when Ron noticed the dilemma. "Uh…Harry! Take out the castle!"

"I can't, Ron. I'll get taken by queen!" shouted Harry.

"Uh…Hermione!"

"I'm not even in a position!"

"SOMEBODY TAKE OUT THE KNIGHT! WE HAVE TO SAVE THE QUEEN!" bellowed Ron.

I let out a long sigh and found the perfect move. "Pawn to A5!"

The pawn moved in between me and the castle, allowing me safety. "Nice move, Elliot!" shouted Ron.

As we continued playing, the stakes got higher. I had just watched the queen take out our other bishop and turned towards Ron. "Wait a minute…" started Harry.

"You see it too, Harry. Once I make my move, the queen will take me. Then you're free to check the king," explained Ron.

"Ron…no!" I shouted.

"What's wrong?" asked Hermione.

"Ron's going to sacrifice himself," explained Amanda.

"No you can't! There must be another way!" shouted Hermione.

"Do you want to stop Snape from getting that stone or not? Harry, you're supposed to go on. Not me, not Hermione, not Rachel, Amanda or Elliot. You."

"Oh no he isn't! I'm going with him!" I shouted. I had not come all that way to turn back now. Ron took in a deep breath and shouted, "Knight to H3!"

The horse began to move towards the square. I could see the fear on Ron's face tense as the horse stopped moving. "Check," he said in a whisper.

Then, we all watched as the queen moved towards him. As soon as the queen had reached him, she took out her sword and stabbed the horse. Ron let out a blood curdling cry in pain as he fell to the ground unconscious. "Ron!" I shouted as I began to move towards him.

Before I could take a step, Harry shouted, "Don't move! Don't forget, we're still playing."

Then, very heroically, Harry moved to the spot in front of the king and shouted, "Checkmate!"

The sword from the king fell in front of Harry. But instead, we all rushed over to Ron. He lay motionless on the floor when we arrived. "Alright, you guys get Ron out of here and go to the Owlery and send for Dumbledore. Ron's right, I have to go on."

As he left, I stood up and ran towards him. "I'm coming with."

"I don't think that's such a good…" he began.

"No, Ron is hurt and I don't think I can stand the thought of you going through and getting killed yourself. Two heads are better than one," I explained.

"Alright, let's go."

We quickly ran through the door, leaving Hermione, Rachel and Amanda to help Ron. When we walked through the door, we saw a mirror and the most unlikely person imaginable standing in front of it. "It can't be…" started Harry.

"Professor Quirrell?" I finished.

Quirrell turned and smirked at us. "But, it can't be…Snape…" began Harry.

"Yes, he does seem the type, doesn't he? But next to him, who would suspect p-poor, st-st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"

"But Snape tried to kill us at the Quidditch match," I stated.

"No, foolish girl. I tried to kill you. If Snape's cloak hadn't caught fire and broken my eye contact, I would have succeeded, even with Snape muttering his little countercurse."

"So…Snape was trying to save us?" asked Harry.

"Yes, now," he said, turning to the mirror, "What does this mirror do? I see what I desire. I see myself holding the stone…but how do I get it?"

Then, an eerie voice filled the room muttering, "Use the boy!"

Quirrell turned to us and shouted, "Come here, Potter!"

Before Harry could take a step, I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Harry, don't do this."

"Bring me the girl," said the voice.

As soon as I looked up, I suddenly found myself moving through a black hole and then back into the room where Quirrell was holding his wand against my neck. "Come here Potter or I kill her."

I was just about to shout out to him not to do it, but Quirrell pushed the wand further into my neck. Then, Harry slowly walked over to the mirror and looked in. "What do you see?" asked Quirrell as he continued to hold the wand to my neck.

Harry continued looking in the mirror, and then moved his hand towards his pocket. "What do you see?" ordered Quirrell.

"I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore. I've won the House Cup."

"He lies!" came the voice.

I smiled as Quirrell shouted, "TELL THE TRUTH!"

Before Harry could reply, the voice said, "Let me speak to them."

"But master, you are not strong enough."

"I have strength enough for this."

Then, Quirrell pushed me back to Harry and unraveled his turban on top of his head. Harry and I watched in amazement as we saw a face with red eyes and a snake-like face on the back of Quirrell's head. "Harry and Elliot Potter, we meet again."

"Elliot Potter? I think you have me confused. I'm Elliot Croft," I told him as Quirrell released me and I moved to stand next to Harry.

"I am not confused. I could have killed you when I had the chance, but your father was a meddlesome fool. After that night, see what I have become? See what I have to do to survive? Live off another. With the stone, I can take form, and together, we can do great things," hissed the face that I could not mistake as Voldemort.

"He's a liar, Harry! If he gets the stone, he'll kill us!" I hissed in Harry's ear.

"Ha! Smart girl…just like your mother. But, I will not kill you. The prophecy states that my daughter will be the one to finish the Potter line," he hissed.

This struck me as odd. The Dark Lord had a daughter? Now I was confused. "Just give me the stone, Harry, and I can take the prophecy away and you and your sister will live."

"Again…I'm…" I began.

"Elliot, now is not the best time," muttered Harry.

"Just give me the stone!" hissed Voldemort.

"NEVER!" we shouted together.

"Kill them!"

Quirrell suddenly leapt at me and began to grasp my neck. As soon as he had a firm grip, he took out his wand once again and pointed it at my neck. "Give me the stone Potter and I will let her live!"

"He's lying, Harry! He's going to kill us either way!" I shouted with a hoarse voice.

That's when I saw Harry moving towards Quirrell with the stone in his hand. Thinking quickly, I grabbed a hold of Quirrell's hand and shoved it away from me. Quirrell let out a cry in pain as he grasped his hand. When Harry and I looked, we saw that Quirrell's hand was crumbling. "What is this magic?" cried Quirrell.

"Fool! Get the stone!"

But before Quirrell could do anything, me and Harry took our hands and touched them to Quirrell's face. Quirrell let out a cry in pain as steam rose from his skin. When Harry and I took our hands away, we saw that Quirrell's face crumbled to the ground and left nothing but his clothes behind in a pile of dust. We did it! We got the stone before Voldemort could! "Come on Harry, let's go," I smiled.

But before we could turn away, I saw a pillar of smoke come flying at Harry. "Harry!" I cried.

But before Harry could move out of the way, the smoke with the face of Voldemort flew through Harry and knocked him to the ground unconscious. I crawled to his side, hoping to wake him up. "Harry, are you alright?" I asked.

But Harry didn't move. My head began to spin, probably from Quirrell choking me. I tried to stand up to help Harry, but my legs wouldn't budge. And before I knew it, I saw people running towards us, and then…black.

TBC…


	13. Chapter 13

**Ch 13**

When I had woken up, I found myself lying on a bed in the hospital wing. Harry was on the bed next to me and flowers, cards and candy adorned both of our spaces. When I looked up, I saw that Dumbledore was standing before me. "Good morning, Elliot."

"Professor, where did all of this come from? Where is everyone? What happened to the stone?"

"Relax, they are fine. What happened in the dungeons between you and Harry and Professor Quirrell and Voldemort is a complete secret. So naturally, the whole school knows. Regarding the stone, I have had a talk with Nicholas and we have decided to destroy it. We find it is for the best."

"But , doesn't that mean Nicholas Flamel will die?"

"He has enough Elixir to sort out his affairs, but yes, he will die."

I gave a weak smile to the wise wizard I had come to know here at Hogwarts. "Sir, I don't understand something, how come Harry could get the stone and not Quirrell?"

"Ah, another one of my ingenious ideas. Only the person that wanted to get the stone and destroy it would be able to take the stone from the mirror."

"And…when we were down there, Voldemort said I was a Potter and that his daughter was going to finish the Potter line. Am I really Harry's sister?"

Dumbledore just stared at me. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"I believe that is something you will have to find out for yourself. Now, I think I may find myself telling all of this to Harry when he awakens. But you can't go walking around school in that, so…" Dumbledore said as he waved his wand and my robes fell onto the bed in front of me, "Why don't you get changed and spend the last hours of your year at Hogwarts with your friends? Good day, Elliot."

And with that, Dumbledore was gone. I just smiled at the spot that he had disappeared from and down at my robes. I was going to miss this place.

---oOo---

The good-bye feast was underway and the hall was adorned with Slytherin colors. Naturally, Slytherin won the house cup and I could see the smirk set on Malfoy's face. Dumbledore rose from his seat and said, "Another year gone. And now, it is time to count the house points. In fourth place, Gryffindor with 172 points. In third, Hufflepuff with 290 points. Second, Ravenclaw with 421 points. And in first place, Slytherin with 472 points."

An evil cheer rose from the Slytherin table. "Yes, well done Slytherin, well done. However, there are certain events that have taken place that must be accounted for. To Miss Amanda Janine, for her caring ways and loyalty to friends, I award Gryffindor…50 points."

We all patted Amanda on the back as Dumbledore continued. "To Miss Hermione Granger, for the cool use of intellect when others were in grave peril, I award Gryffindor…50 points."

Again, the Gryffindor house cheered. "To Miss Rachel Sinclair, for her excellent attitude and guidance she gives to friends, I award Gryffindor…50 points."

Man were we racking up points. "To Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen these many years, I award…50 points."

Of course, Dumbledore meant the chess game down beneath the school to get to the Sorcerer's Stone. "To Miss Elliot Croft, for the ability to think quickly on her feet and joy she brings to others. I award…50 points."

He actually gave me some points. I couldn't believe it. "And to Mr. Harry Potter, for pure nerve and outstanding courage. I award Gryffindor House…50 points."

We all cheered. We had just won 300 points in five minutes. Hermione leant in and said, "We're tied with Slytherin."

All of our faces lit up as Dumbledore continued, "And last, it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies. But it takes a great deal more to stand up to your friends. For this, I award ten points, to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

We all stood up in victory and patted Neville on the back. Thank god he stood up to us. "Assuming that my calculations are correct, I think a change in decoration, is in order!"

Suddenly, the colors turned from Green and Silver to Scarlett and Gold. "Gryffindor wins the House Cup!"

Everyone in the room, except the Slytherins, threw up their hats in celebration. Harry and I turned to Dumbledore and smiled at him. Dumbledore was going to take good care of us.

---oOo---

Everyone was beginning to board the train to head for home. Rachel, Amanda and I were going to stay at the Weasley's from now on because our adoptive parents were, "deported". Before I could board the train, Hagrid called out, "Elliot!"

Quickly, I ran towards him and looked up at his hairy face. "You didn' think you were goin' to 'eave withou' saying good-bye, did you?"

"Of course not Hagrid."

"Hold on, go' something for ya."

Hagrid dug deep in his pockets and pulled out a leather-covered book. As soon as I had grabbed it, I opened it up and saw my parents waving at me with a little girl with red hair and green eyes and a boy with brown hair and green eyes. I recognized the little girl straight away, but I didn't recognize the boy at all. "Who is that?" I asked.

"I don' think I'm the one to be tellin' ya tha'. You bes' be goin'."

I gave Hagrid one final hug and boarded the train. As the train began its course towards London, we all stuck our heads out of the window and waved at Hagrid. Little did we know that the trouble was only beginning.

**End of Part 1**


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